A Simple Change: The Rasengan
by James D. Fawkes
Summary: Discontinued A simple change in the content of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals has an amazing effect on the future. What if Kage Bunshin hadn't been first on the list? NaruHina KakaRin SasuSaku Adopted by "Deaths pet fox"
1. A Simple Change

**A Simple Change: The Rasengan**

**By: **Hideo Kazama (秀夫　風間)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and co. If I did, Naruto would have beaten the crap out of Sasuke at the Valley of the End and wouldn't wear that awful orange jumpsuit. No, he would wear old fashioned Shinobi clothes, and, in this fic, he will.**

**Chapter One: A Simple Change

* * *

**

Naruto sat down to catch his breath, having just escaped into the forest from the Hokage's mansion. His breathing was ragged and irregular, but still at a healthy pace. When he had finally slowed his breathing back to a normal pattern, he opened the Scroll of Forbidden Seals, his fingers trembling in excitement.

"First Jutsu on the list…Jissai Soru no Jutsu!" _"Art of Reality Warp?"_

He stopped and seemed to think about it for all of two seconds, his eyebrow rose in curiosity, before he looked at the description:

_A Nin/Genjutsu Hybrid. This Jutsu slows down the real world to an extreme degree. The user, therefore, is able to do many more things than the people in the real world since he or she is not affected. The greatest known time difference noted is a whole six years. In other words, the user had slowed down the world around him to the point where he spent six years training while only a few hours passed in real time. A thing to remember about this jutsu is that your aging process is not affected by it, meaning that, no matter how far you slow reality down, you'll age the way you would in the real world. It is extremely easy to learn and cast but would be deadly in enemy hands._

_Note: This jutsu can only be used for training. You can not affect anything happening in the real world, and the real world won't affect you._

_Hand Seals: Bird, Dog, Monkey, Snake, Bird, Ox, Boar, Snake, Ram, Tiger, Horse, Hare, Snake, Bird, Dog, Monkey, Hare, Ox, Rat_

Naruto grinned widely, his fingers twitching in anticipation. He took a quick look around, and then lay the open scroll on the ground in front of him. He went through the hand seals slowly so as not to mess them up. He finished with a low whisper to himself, "Rat."

BANG!

In a bright flash of light, everything around Naruto disappeared! A sudden falling sensation ran through the blonde's limbs as darkness engulfed him! Then, all of the sudden, everything stopped!

When Naruto opened his eyes, he was no longer in the forest. Instead, he was sitting in a clearing. Beyond the clearing, in one direction, North, he could see a desert. In another direction, East, he could see a snow capped mountain. To the South, he could see a river and a waterfall. To the West, a bamboo forest lay in wait.

Naruto's rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his mouth hanging open slightly, "Sugoi!"

With a bright flash, fiery words wrote themselves in mid air:

**Six months**

Naruto was a bit confused for a second, then he remembered that the Jutsu he used manipulated time and space (only he didn't think of it as complexly). He grinned, and, as he was about to stand, his foot collided with something. Looking in the offending limb's direction, he found the scroll lying in front of him. He greedily picked it up again, searching its contents for another cool Jutsu.

"Du…du…duu…Ah! Here we go! Rasengan! It has to be learned in three steps!" Naruto scowled angrily, "ARGH!"

"_Let's see if it's worth it."_

Rasengan:

_A Ninjutsu originally crafted by the Yondaime, Rasengan is an A rank Jutsu. It requires no hand seals, but is extremely difficult to learn. It combines the Tree climbing and water walking exercises(which are later explained due to their necessity for certain jutsu) into its design, making it easier for some of the more experienced Shinobi to learn it. It is a powerful technique that causes much more internal damage than external damage if it is done right. Thus it is very hard to block._

_Note: Yondaime created other Jutsu, such as Hiraishin no Jutsu (Later mentioned in this scroll) that aided in his single handed victory against scores of Iwa-nin in the Third Great Shinobi War._

"_Whoa! Yondaime made this? It 'aided in his single handed victory against of scores of Iwa-nin'? Sugoi! I HAVE to learn this!" _

**Four Months Later…**

"_I think I have it," _Naruto thought, _"But it took me a long while to finally master it."_

Naruto, of course, being the dense person that he was, had no idea that he had done something it had taken the great Yondaime _years _to accomplish in just four months.

Now, he was moving on to his next Jutsu, Kage Bunshin. A Jounin level Kinjutsu. He, with his now superior chakra control, proceeded to try this technique.

And, two days later, succeeded in mastering it.

The last Jutsu on his list of things to learn was the 'Hiraishin no Jutsu' he had heard so much about in the scroll. So, he unraveled the scroll again and proceeded to read what was said about Hiraishin no Jutsu…

…then he face faulted into the ground.

"_Kuso! That'll take me at least THREE MONTHS to master…"_

"…_AND I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME!"_

He sighed heavily, then took off his jacket, pulling a marker out from his kunai pouch (after all, what if he came across a sleeping Chuunin, but didn't have a marker with him to do doodles on said ninja's face?). He set his jacket down near the scroll, and proceeded to copy everything about the Hiraishin no Jutsu onto the inside of it.

After that, he put his jacket in a safe place and began studying the theory of Hiraishin no Jutsu (He didn't have the proper kunai or paper to write the seals on).

When his time was up, Naruto was transported back to the hut where he was supposed to meet Mizuki, his jacket (which now housed the whole theory and such behind the Hiraishin no Jutsu on its inside) now on his body again.

He looked at the moon to discover that it hadn't moved much compared to when he had left. He had become a bit more serious during his stay in the other realm— solitude tends to do that to you. He was still a bit loud and exuberant, but he had toned down a little.

To the average onlooker, he didn't look any different than when he had left. But, to a shinobi, his muscles had become more toned, his face a little less chubby with baby fat. To a shinobi, his eyes held a little less emotion, though they were by no means blank. To a shinobi, his skin was a bit darker; not very noticeably so, just a bit. To a shinobi, this would be very strange, as he had not aged a bit.

He smirked as his nose picked up a smell coming at him fast. He dropped the expression in favor of an exhausted one, doubling over with his hands on his knees and pretending to pant. He waited.

As soon as he sensed someone land in front of him, he looked up, dropping the pant. Iruka stood there, a disturbing look on his face, "I've found you!"

Naruto fell into his character easily, half of it genuine, "Heh, heh, you found me…I only had time to learn a few jutsu."

Iruka gave Naruto a once over, noticing frayed parts in his pants…but his jacket was strangely untouched. Naruto interrupted him, "Never mind that! If I show you this awesome Jutsu, you'll let me graduate!"

Iruka looked at him, surprised, "What gave you that idea?"

Naruto grinned, "Mizuki-sensei! He also told me about this scroll! He said that if I mastered one technique on here, you'd let me graduate!"

Iruka's eyes widened, _"Mizuki?"_

A sound fell onto their ears and Iruka flung Naruto out of the way, spinning around to get barraged with kunai! When Naruto looked up, his teacher was pinned to the hut they had been standing in front of!

A slight rustle caught Naruto's attention, and he whipped his head around to find Mizuki crouched on a tree on the other end of the clearing. Mizuki smirked, the supersized shuriken clanging lightly as he let out a low, short chuckle.

Mizuki's evil smile stretched a bit, "Great job finding him…"

"_Now_, I understand," Iruka spat venomously, tugging a kunai from his shoulder.

Mizuki's smirk dropped, and he spoke seriously, "Naruto, give me the scroll."

"No matter what, Naruto," Iruka said, pulling another kunai loose, "Don't give him the scroll! Mizuki used you to get his slimy hands on it!"

Naruto didn't know what was going on. He had an idea, but…_ "Mizuki-sensei wouldn't do that, would he?"_

Mizuki smirked evilly, speaking in a singsong voice, "Naruto, there's no point in you having it…let me tell you the truth…"

Iruka's heart stopped for a second, "NO! DON'T MIZUKI!"

Mizuki's smirk widened into a maniacal grin and his voice was slightly giddy, "Twelve years ago, the demon fox Kyubi was sealed. And ever since that event, a new rule was created…a rule that everyone knows but you…because, Naruto…you were never meant to know it."

Naruto stuttered slightly, confused and a bit fearful, "Wha-what is this rule?"

Mizuki's grin widened to an impossible degree, "The rule is that no one is allowed to speak of the fact that _you _are the Kyubi no Yoko! The very demon fox that killed Iruka's parents and nearly destroyed the village!"

Mizuki began to yell in his exuberance, "You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire…"

Iruka closed his eyes, "STOP IT!"

Mizuki paid him no mind, "…And _everyone_ lied to you! Didn't you find it weird that everyone hated you! What crackpot excuse did that decrepit Hokage give you for that!"

Taking a shuriken from his back, Mizuki started to spin it, "Even IRUKA hates you!"

Naruto roared in his anger, amethyst chakra whirling around his body! As his whisker marks became slightly more defined, crimson started to bleed into his irises!

Even as he prepared to throw his oversized shuriken, Mizuki rubbed salt in the fresh wound, "Nobody will ever accept you!"

Tears crept down Naruto's face as horrific scenes flashed in front of his now amethyst eyes. The first three were of his maltreatment by the villagers. He could hear them whisper to their children to stay away from him. Mizuki's voice crept into each scene, telling him he'd never be accepted.

"_You are the Kyubi no Yoko!"_ A scene of the night the battle took place appeared in his mind, filled with carnage as a gigantic fox towered over the forest surrounding it, its jaws soaked with red blood. He could hear its monstrous roar!

SQUELCH! The sickening sound of metal piercing flesh reached his ears as small droplets of warm liquid fell on his face! A groan came from in front of him, prompting Naruto to open his eyes.

Iruka's eyes were closed, but he knew Naruto was still underneath him, so he decided to make his opinion heard, "When my p-parents died, I had no one to acknowledge me, to care for me. I-I acted the fool t-to gain attention. It was so painful."

The whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks returned to normal, but his eyes remained the amethyst they had become, the rounded human pupil there like it always had been. Naruto blinked when he felt water drip onto his cheeks, "I-If I'd done a better job, Naruto," Iruka's voice tightened in regret, tears falling from his eyes, "Y-you wouldn't have had to feel that pain like I did."

Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit as he looked towards the ground. Before Iruka could say anything else, Naruto had dashed off into the forest.

Mizuki chuckled, "Touching, Iruka, but it doesn't matter. Naruto is going to use the scroll to get revenge on the village…whatever you do is useless."

"Naruto isn't like that," Iruka ground out, pulling the shuriken from his back and throwing it back at Mizuki. Mizuki just chuckled, jumping away in pursuit of Naruto.

* * *

The Hokage sat in his chambers, his crystal ball set out in front of him. 

"_This is not good. If Naruto releases the Kyubi, even if by accident, then the village is doomed. I can only hope, and place my faith in Uzumaki Naruto."_

The Sandaime Hokage turned his gaze to the pictures hanging on the wall, his eyes homing in on the picture of the Yondaime, whose spiky hair and blue eyes stood out amongst his other features.

"_My friend, you would be deeply ashamed if you could see what your village has done to your only son. We can only pray he has inherited your strength like he did your determination."_

* * *

A damaged and battered Chuunin chased after a not as battered, blonde haired boy, leaping from tree to tree as his target did. He rushed to catch up, his voice urgent, "Hurry! Pass me the scroll! Mizuki is after it!" 

Said boy made his way towards the Chuunin, and…rammed his shoulder in the other's stomach as the both fell from the trees.

The boy fell back against a tree trunk, gasping for breath, while the Chuunin pushed himself from the ground, an odd look on his face, "Why? Naruto?"

The brown haired Chuunin glared at the boy, and, with a puff of smoke, turned into a gray haired Chuunin, "How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"

The boy smirked and turned into the brown haired Chuunin, "Because I'm Iruka."

The gray haired Chuunin smiled evilly, "I see…"

He turned to face Iruka, "So…You'd go that far for that _thing? _You don't get it…Naruto and I are the same! We both want the power of the scroll for our own purposes. There's no way a demon would pass that up!"

Iruka looked to the ground, "Yeah, a demon would do that…"

He looked back up, his face drawn into an angry expression, "But he's not a demon! He's Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure no Sato!"

Mizuki frowned, and prepared to throw the other shuriken, "Bah! I'll kill you now. Hurry up and die!"

WHAM! An orange blur flew through the clearing, colliding painfully with Mizuki's jaw! The shuriken flew forward, missing Iruka and going off course.

Mizuki was knocked backward and skid a bit on the ground as the orange blur landed. The gray haired Chuunin began to stand, anger and venom dripping from his words, "**_You shouldn't have done that._**"

Naruto's tone was low, and his amethyst eyes were glowing ominously, "Don't hurt Iruka-sensei, _or I'll kill you!_"

"I'll kill you with one blow!" Mizuki shouted back.

Naruto snorted, his right hand positioned off to the side a little, a safe distance away from his body, "Fool. I'd like to see you beat the Yondaime's prized Jutsu."

Iruka's eyes widened, his jaw dropping a little. Mizuki just laughed, "Stop bluffing! There's no way a _loser _like you could know the Yondaime's Jutsu, let alone master it in a day!"

Naruto frowned, which twisted upward a short time later as chakra began to gather in his right hand. Iruka and Mizuki watched in amazement as it began to form a sphere. Naruto lifted his arm to shoulder level, letting all present see the blue ball of charka as it spun an inch or so above his open palm. Small tendrils of wind swept around it as it spun faster and faster!

Naruto smirked evilly at Mizuki, "What was that you said _Sensei_?"

Mizuki took a step back, fear plastered on his face. Naruto started walking towards Mizuki, the Rasengan still spinning and hovering above his palm. He brought his left hand in front of him into half of the Kage Bunshin seal. The Rasengan flickered for a moment as chakra molded itself using that one handed seal.

With a low "Pop!" two clones appeared behind Mizuki and grabbed onto his arms, holding him in place. They snickered as Naruto addressed the captive Chuunin in front of him, "This will only hurt for a second…"

As Iruka closed his eyes, the scene changed to that of the bright full moon in the night sky. Then, out of nowhere, the serenity of the scene was broken by a loud, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Mizuki was lying on the ground, unconscious. A large, round hole was easily seen ripped into his Chuunin vest and shirt, a burnt and scratched stomach beneath them. Naruto stood in front of Iruka, scratching his head sheepishly, "I…could've handled that better."

Iruka grinned, "Close your eyes, Naruto, there's something I want to give you."

Naruto felt his goggles being removed and replaced seconds later by something made of cloth. He fidgeted, eager to know if it was what he thought it was. He bit his lip, "Iruka-sensei…now?"

Iruka smiled, though Naruto couldn't see it, "You can open your eyes, Naruto, and…Congratulations on graduating!"

Naruto's eyes watered a bit as he stared at his father/older brother figure. His mouth wobbled a bit, then he flung himself at his teacher, screaming, "Iruka-sensei!"

* * *

Two Days Later… 

The sun was bright as Uzumaki Naruto walked down the dirt roads of Konoha, his hitai-ate now wrapped around his forehead with black cloth instead of the usual blue. A large smile was plastered across his face, his amethyst eyes gleaming with happiness. He continued his purposeful strides down the path in front of him, taking his time walking to the Academy.

As he reached his destination, he slid open the sliding doors that lead to the room he was looking for. His smile widened into a happy grin as he saw the other graduates chattering gleefully amongst themselves. He let loose a short chuckle and searched for a seat.

"_Let's see,"_ he told himself, _"I can sit either next to Hinata-san," _his gaze traveled to a dark haired girl with white eyes, then swerved to lock onto a dark haired, broody boy, _"Or Sasuke-teme."_

Making up his mind, he twisted his head back towards the shy Hyuga heiress, _"I'll sit with Hinata-san. She could use some company."_

As Naruto walked up the steps, he heard a slight jingle coming from his kunai pouch. He mentally grinned as he remembered he had gone to a blacksmith shortly after his ordeal with Konohamaru yesterday. He had specifically requested the kunai necessary for the Hiraishin no Jutsu, though not in those words.

He sat down next to the shy girl, greeting her warmly, "Ohayo Gozaimasu, Hinata-san! Nice day, isn't it?"

She blushed prettily, her cheeks turning hot pink, "O-ohayo go-gozaimasu, Naruto-kun."

She looked like she was trying to say something else, but she turned back around, poking her fingers together and blushing a light scarlet. Naruto noticed that she would throw glances his way every now and then, and he thought he knew why, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"_After all, who would care for the village pariah?"_

He barely registered the fight between the two girls at the door, his mind on other things. He caught a whiff of a familiar scent and wrinkled his nose as a pink haired girl walked by his seat towards the dark, moody boy known as Uchiha Sasuke. He scowled in disgust, _"What did I ever see in her? She's a little witch who cares for no one but Sasuke-teme. I think I'd like a quiet girl over loud, noisy pains like Sakura. I'd prefer a girl like Hinata-san. She's quiet and gentle and nice." _He had started to smile, it faltered a bit, _"But she has a confidence issue. I hope she's on my team, I might be able to help her a bit in that department."_

He was broken out of his musings by Iruka, who had already finished his graduation speech, "…Next: Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and…" Iruka felt the gaze of almost every Kunoichi in the room on him. He could feel a slight bit of killing intent oozing from them, almost as if they were threatening him. Iruka started to sweat a bit as at least a dozen eyes glared at him with an intensity to match the sun.

Iruka cleared his throat, "…Hyuga Hinata…"

Naruto rose from his seat, an angry look plastered across his tan face. Next to him, Hinata could feel the beginnings of depression. He didn't _want _her on his team. He didn't like her. He thought she was too weak to be on his team. He… "Iruka-sensei! Why am I stuck with the cold, weak bastard, Sasuke-teme! Hinata-san and I are too good for him!"

Iruka glared at Naruto, "Because, Naruto, Sasuke is the number one rookie of the year! You have the lowest scores! Tradition dictates that the best and the worst students be paired up in a team so that the best can make up for the worst's lack of skill!"

Naruto's voice was chilly and cold, "We both know, Iruka-sensei, that _I'm _better than Sasuke. I proved that last night!"

Iruka waved it off, but he was almost scared by the biting chill in Naruto's words, "That may be, but the ranks in this classroom are dependant on _grades_ and nothing else."

Naruto still didn't look happy, but he nodded tersely and sat down. Hinata looked both happy and concerned, and, while looking out of character to Iruka, asked Naruto if he was okay. Iruka shook his head to clear it, his tone a little more somber and subdued as he finished reading off the teams, "The Jounin senseis will be introduced after lunch. Take a break."

* * *

Naruto and Hinata had spent lunch together, chatting happily (which means Hinata sat and listened to Naruto's stories). Sasuke had spent his lunch hiding from his fan girls. The Jounin senseis had come to collect their teams, and everyone had already left…except team 7. 

Naruto sat at his desk, as far away from Sasuke as possible, a scowl planted firmly on his face. Hinata sat next to him, a light blush on her face from the proximity. Sasuke was his normal, broody self, his hands folded in front of his mouth. It had been nearly three hours since the other teams had left.

Finally, after a very long and tedious three hours, Naruto heard the soft pitter patter of feet walking down the hall. He perked up and glared at the door as it slid open. He was faintly aware of Sasuke mimicking him, to an extent, as a silver haired head popped in the door.

The head had a dark blue mask on that covered his nose down. Also, a Konoha Hitai-ate was slung diagonally over his left eye, leaving his hair and his right eye the only distinguishable things on his head. The head was followed by a body wearing the traditional Jounin garb, including armored gloves and flak jacket.

The Jounin turned towards them, catching sight of the death glares directed at him, "Hmmm…My first impression of you is…"

Even through their glares, the two boys seemed to hang onto his every word the same way the Hyuga heiress did, "…I don't like you."

Naruto face faulted and Sasuke sweat dropped, as he grinned at them beneath his mask, his right eye curving upwards, "Meet me up on the roof." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Hinata and Naruto left after Sasuke, trailing behind him slightly.

* * *

They met Kakashi on the roof of the Academy, where he was leaning on the railing, hands in his pockets, "Alright, you three. Let's start off with some introductions…" 

Naruto and Hinata looked at him blankly. Sasuke looked impassive, as always.

Kakashi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "You know, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies…"

Naruto grinned wickedly, "You first, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi just stared at him, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes are none of your business. Dreams for the future? Hmm…I have a lot of hobbies."

Naruto shot him a glare. The Jounin smiled innocently and pointed to him, "Your turn, blondie."

The Kyubi vessel huffed, crossing his arms, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes and dislikes are none of your business…" he grinned at the gray haired Jounin, "My hobbies are training and pulling pranks. Dream for the future? Can't tell you. The world would end."

"_That was an obvious lie…" _Kakashi thought.

He shook his head, motioning to Hinata, "Your turn."

The shy girl blushed and looked at the ground, "My n-name is Hyuga Hinata. My likes and dislikes…" she glanced at Naruto, then said firmly, "…are none of your business. My hobbies are pressing flowers and training to be a medic-nin. M-my dreams for the future are none of your b-business."

"_Great job, Hina-chan," _she told herself, _"Almost no stuttering that time!"_

"_Wow," _Kakashi's eye was open slightly wider, _"She actually stood up to me and, more obviously, she likes Naruto."_

He turned his gaze towards Sasuke, "Go, Mr. Icicle."

Sasuke gave his patented death glare, then sighed exasperatedly, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no likes, and very many dislikes. And…" he paused, "I don't want to call it a dream, it's more of an ambition. To restore my clan and to kill a certain man."

Kakashi stared at him, _"I got one word for ya. Predictable."_

He stood up off the railing, "We'll begin our duties tomorrow with some survival training. Just the four of us."

Naruto settle for a confused look, "But we've already done survival training in the Academy…"

Kakashi closed his eye and chuckled, "You guys are gonna flip. You see, the graduation test was just to see if you had what it takes to be Genin. The real test is administered by us Jounin sensei."

Kakashi looked at them, an evil look in his eye, "And that test has a failure rate of 66.66 percent."

He turned around and looked as if were about to jump away, "Bring your ninja gear. Oh, and skip breakfast, or you'll throw up."

* * *

The Next morning…. 

The three Genin were waiting where Kakashi had to them to. Kakashi himself almost lost his jaw when he arrived to see Naruto wearing old fashioned shinobi garb consisting of a sleeveless black haori with dark orange trim, a long orange obi tied in a knot on the front side of his body, and black pants styled similarly to Kakashi's, with black bandages instead of white. Tied around Naruto's forehead was his hitai-ate and underneath his haori was a fishnet shirt sown into a skintight, navy blue shirt of the same size. On his hands were the same gloves Kakashi sported and on his feet were black sandals.

Kakashi whistled (how do you do that through a mask?), "I see you've decided to change, Naruto."

The Jounin shook his head, placing a clock/timer on one of the stumps in the area. He held up two bells and attached them to his waist, "Your task is to take these bells from me by noon. Those who don't get a bell get no lunch. If you don't get a bell, I'll tie you to a stump and eat in front of you."

Three stomachs growled. He ignored them, "Fail to get a bell and you fail the test. Fail the test and you get sent back to the Academy. You won't succeed if you don't give it your all."

He stared at them, "Ready…START!"

In a blur, all four Ninja disappeared. Kakashi landed farther away in the clearing while the other three seemed to have gone hiding.

"_Good, they've all hidden well."_

The Jounin sweat dropped as he saw Naruto not too far away, arms crossed with a wide grin on his face.

"_What a Dobe."_

"_Naruto-kun!"_

"_Ah, so we have our first contestant."_

Kakashi stared at him, "You're a little off."

Naruto's grin widened, as he pulled some odd looking kunai from his kunai pouch, "I want to test out my latest Jutsu."

The silver haired Jounin's eye widened as the three pronged kunai went sailing, landing in strategic spots around Kakashi. He narrowed his eye as he watched the Kyubi vessel's grinning face disappear.

Cursing, Kakashi pulled up his Hitai-ate, exposing the Sharingan to the world against a Genin for the very first time. He caught little snippets of movement around him, but he couldn't make out a solid form. The Jounin found himself spinning his head and body around in order to track the _dead last _of the Academy.

As he was trying to follow Naruto, he felt a large, angry spike in chakra somewhere in the trees. Despite his situation, Kakashi couldn't help but laugh to himself, _"Looks like someone's jealous."_

His moment of distraction was all Naruto needed as he snatched up both bells and delivered a roundhouse kick to Kakashi's jaw, sending the Jounin sailing towards a tree. As Naruto and his kunai disappeared with a final blur of yellow and black, Kakashi collided with the tree and fell to the ground in a daze.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest, Naruto reappeared, panting. He leaned against a tree while he attempted to catch his breath. _"Damn! I have to lower the Chakra consumption! Fifteen seconds and I'm already drained!" _

He stiffened when he felt a hand on his shoulder, knowing full well he couldn't fight off his Jounin sensei in his current state. He was met with surprise as the voice of the person he had been looking for reached his ears.

"Naruto-kun?"

He whipped around and flung his arms around the girl behind him, letting out a short laugh of relief. The bells in his hand jingled as he took deep steadying breaths. In his joyful relief, he failed to notice Hinata hugging him back with a small smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks.

When he had regained enough energy, he released her and held a bell out in his palm. She blushed, looking surprised, and gingerly asked, "Naruto-kun?" hoping he was doing what she thought he was.

He nodded, grinning a vulpine grin, and she hesitantly accepted it…before the boy in front of her collapsed into her arms, snoring lightly. She slowly sat down, resting his head on her thighs and gently running her hand through his hair. She tucked the second bell he had, the one he kept, in his obi, then put as much chakra as she dared into an invisibility genjutsu. After all, they weren't that far from the clearing, so if Kakashi looked hard enough, he'd have seen them.

She went back to stroking his hair with a light blush and a small smile on her face, listening to him sigh blissfully in his sleep, muttering things about ramen.

* * *

In another clearing, Sasuke was buried in the ground up to his neck, Kakashi leaning over him. The Jounin took the opportunity to taunt Sasuke, "Your Ninjutsu is pretty good, but it's nowhere near Naruto's level." 

"_Which reminds me, I'm going to have to ask him where he learned Sensei's Jutsu."_

He refocused on the Genin in front of him, "I didn't get the chance to test Hinata, and, if I'm right, I probably won't. Besides, if I'm right, then Hinata already has one of the two bells Naruto stole from me."

"T-two?" Sasuke asked shakily.

Kakashi nodded, his Icha Icha Paradise in his hand, "Yup. He took both bells and took off in Hinata's direction. They're probably hiding, waiting for the alarm to go off, or, in Naruto's case, sleeping to regain lost energy."

"B-but, how?"

Kakashi looked at him, unfazed, "Naruto knows a Jutsu that should have died with my Sensei; a jutsu that shouldn't even be possible for a Jounin to do, let alone a Genin." he sighed, "But, then again, given who and what Naruto is, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised."

A loud ringing was heard, signaling the end of the exercise. Reaching into the ground, Kakashi pulled Sasuke up out of the earth by his arm, steering him towards the posts with an evil look in his eye.

* * *

When it was all said and done, Sasuke sat tied to one post while Hinata and a sleepy Naruto sat side by side against the other two. Kakashi stood in front of them, both bells back in his possession. 

"Well," he said, addressing them, "Before I pass or fail you, I want to know a few things."

He turned to the dark haired girl, "Hinata, why didn't you help Sasuke instead of hiding with Naruto?"

Hinata blushed for a second, but set her eyes determinately and said firmly, "Because Naruto-kun was asleep from exhaustion and defenseless. Uchiha-san could take care of himself, Naruto-kun couldn't."

Kakashi nodded, turning on the tired Naruto, "Why didn't you give the bell to Sasuke instead of Hinata?"

The blonde grinned, "Because Sasuke-teme wouldn't have accepted it. He has too much damn pride."

Kakashi nodded again, turning, at last, towards Sasuke, "Why didn't you help either of your teammates?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Teammates will only hold me back in the end."

Beneath his mask, the Jounin scowled, his eye narrowing, "In the beginning, I didn't think I would pass this team, and, if it hadn't been for Naruto and Hinata's show of teamwork, I wouldn't have anyway. But I'm going to let you guys pass." He looked towards Sasuke, "Sasuke, just remember, the only reason you passed is because your teammates did. This was never about getting a bell, it was about teamwork. Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who don't care about their teammates are lower than that."

Kakashi stood up straight again and let loose a sigh, "Tomorrow, Team Seven starts its duties."

* * *

After chasing and catching the same cat for what had to be the sixth time in one week, Team 7 returned to the Hokage Tower for their next mission. Hinata and Kakashi pitied the cat as it was returned to the _gentle, _loving arms of Madam Shijimi, the fire lord's wife. 

The Hokage turned his gaze towards the list in his hands, "Hmm…Team 7, your next duty is…"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Naruto interrupted, "I'm tired of these easy, boring tasks! I want to do a C rank mission!"

"_Naruto-kun is right, these are too easy and boring."_

"_I agree with the Dobe."_

"I want something that will test my skills, not my patience!" Naruto was about to start his rant when a chuckle broke him off.

"Very well, Naruto-kun," Sandaime said, "Your task is the protection of a certain individual."

He turned toward the door on the side, "Hey, can you come in here?"

An old man with a bottle of sake walked into the room. Naruto could distinctly smell the rice wine on his breath, "They're all a bunch of super brats! Especially the short one with the super weird looking face!"

He took a swig from his bottle, pointedly ignoring the amethyst eyes glaring at him, "I'm Tazuna. I expect you brats to protect me until we get back to my country and complete my bridge. Think you midgets can do that?"

* * *

As the left the village gates, Naruto and Hinata ventured to ask questions about Wave Country. Together, Kakashi and Tazuna answered each question as best they could. Sasuke simply ignored them and walked ahead of the rest, acting as if he were some king or something. 

As they walked past a puddle, the four ninja noticed it and waited for what would inevitably happen. They weren't disappointed when, out of the puddle, two Mist Chuunin appeared wrapping their chain around Kakashi! Kakashi looked surprised as the chains tore him to bits. In a deep, rough voice, one of them said, "One down."

They dashed towards Naruto, muttering to one another, "Two down."

Sasuke flung a shuriken in midair, throwing a kunai after it to make sure the chain stuck to the tree. The two Chuunin noticed the snag, but weren't quick enough to defeat Sasuke, who landed on their shoulders and kicked them apart! They were flung to the side, the chain snapping from their gauntlets.

Landing on their feet, the Chuunin each dashed for a different target. The smooth haired one headed for Tazuna and Hinata, who stood in her Jyuken stance. The spiky haired one went for Naruto, aiming to poison the blonde haired Genin.

Naruto powered up a Rasengan seconds before he would get slashed by the second Chuunin, thrusting it into the ninja's gut! Naruto's opponent's eyes widened, and then he went flying, smashing through two trees before he came to a stop!

Growling, Naruto spun around, ready to fling one of his special kunai to stop the other ninja…only to discover he didn't have to.

Kakashi stood in front of Tazuna and Hinata, the first Chuunin slung across his arm. He turned his head to the bridge builder, "Tazuna-san, we need to talk."

* * *

As they set up camp for the night, Kakashi addressed his team, "Alright, everyone. With the information Tazuna has given me, this is most likely a B or A rank mission. We have a choice, continue on from here, regardless of the danger, or call it quits and go home. Which do you guys (and girl" he added after a scathing look from Hinata) want to do?" 

The three Genin gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"

Kakashi laughed nervously, "Maa maa, I should have expected that from you guys. Alright. We'll keep going. Just remember, it won't be as easy as you think."

He turned around, sighed, and headed off into the woods to think and get more firewood.

* * *

Team 7 and their client had just left the boat they had taken to Wave country a few minutes ago. Hinata and Naruto were walking close together, a contented smile on both their faces. Their hands would occasionally brush together and they would both blush, a smile still stuck to their faces. 

Kakashi and Naruto had stopped when they felt someone watching them, the hair on their necks standing on end. Naruto heard something slice through the foliage and heeded Kakashi's warning of "Everyone down!"

Following his command, everyone ducked as a huge Zanbatou flew over their heads, embedding itself into a tree! A low chuckle brought everyone's attention to the shirtless man now standing on top of its hilt.

Kakashi glared at the man, "Well, well, if it isn't the infamous missing-nin, Momochi Zabuza."

Kakashi pulled up his hitai-ate, revealing his Sharingan eye.

The man looked back, "You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi. Sorry, but the old man is mine!"

"Surround and protect Tazuna-san! Do not enter the fight!" Kakashi ordered his team.

Zabuza crouched on his sword, "Let's end the talking. I have to kill that old man. But it seems I have to beat you first, Kakashi!"

The missing-nin launched himself from the tree, taking his sword with him. He landed on the water, hands in an odd hand seal. From his mouth came a quiet whisper, "Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

A large mist gathered around the lake and slowly began to spread across the land. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hinata retreated into a fighting stance while Naruto pulled out some of his special kunai. Aiming as precisely as he could, he flung them into strategic places on the land, a few of them being in the trees.

The mist began to thicken and Kakashi made a hand seal, using his chakra to dispel the mist! Sasuke was trembling, the killing intent that Zabuza oozed and overwhelmed him. His hands began shaking uncontrollably. He was ready to end all just to get it over…!

"Sasuke!" Kakashi turned his head, eye smiling at them, "Don't worry. I don't let my comrades die!"

A rush of air met Naruto's ears and a foreign scent invaded his nostrils! He twisted his head around to see…Zabuza! The tan mist shinobi prepared to swing his giant blade when, out of nowhere, Kakashi appeared, stabbing a kunai in the mist nin's gut!

A faint dripping sound forced everyone to see what happened. From their standpoint, it looked as if Kakashi had landed a fatal blow on the dangerous missing-nin, until it burst into water!

A second Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, ready to swing its blade!

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Hinata yelled in unison.

SPLASH! Zabuza swung his Zanbatou, cutting Kakashi clear in half! The three Genin gasped! The Kakashi that had stood in front of them turned into water!

Zabuza felt cold steel against his neck. Kakashi stood behind him, kunai in hand, "It's over."

There was silence for a few seconds, then Zabuza started to laugh, "'It's over'? You're right, Kakashi, it is!"

With a splash, Zabuza turned into water! From behind, another Zabuza swung at Kakashi, who ducked! The remaining Zabuza dug his sword in the ground and used his momentum to send Kakashi flying with a roundhouse kick to the jaw!

Kakashi landed in the lake, Zabuza standing on the water above him, "Suirou no Jutsu!"

A large ball of water formed around Kakashi's body, trapping him in Zabuza's hold. Zabuza laughed, making a hand seal, "Now to take care of you little friends! Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A water clone rose from the remains of its predecessors, smirking through the bandages covering its. It laughed, "Hehe, you punks don't know what it's like to be a real ninja! Take of those hitai-ate and stop pretending!"

The clone lashed out, kicking Naruto in the stomach! Its gaze was never on its legs, though, which left it confused when the boy it had kicked hadn't flown. It looked down to see the boy clinging to its leg, smirking!

He grinned, flashing a fanged smile, "I got two words for ya, you eyebrow less freak! Bunshin Daibakuha!"

BOOM! The boy on the Mizu Bunshin's leg exploded, destroying the water clone, and the shadow clone that had apparently been clinging to its leg! The majority of the Ninja stood with a surprised look on their face!

The real Zabuza felt someone tap his shoulder, and, almost fearing what he would see, he turned his head to see who it was.

WHAM! BANG! POW! Zabuza took a punch right to the jaw that sent him flying for dry land!

Naruto grinned, "I thought that move might come in handy!"

Zabuza growled angrily, pulling the massive Zanbatou from his back and charging for Naruto! He roared, "You damn brat!"

WHAM! A roundhouse kick from Kakashi sent the mist-nin into a tree! The Konoha Jounin glared at Zabuza, his Sharingan eye whirling, "Don't forget! I'm your opponent!"

His voice lowered, "And I don't fall for the same Jutsu twice."

Zabuza snorted, flashing through hands seals as Kakashi followed his lead, "Bah!"

They both stopped on bird, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

Two large water dragons rose from the lake, battling each other for dominance! With a loud SPLASH, they both collapsed back into the lake as water, sending waves rippling across the surface!

Growling his frustration, Zabuza ran to the side a bit, Kakashi mirroring his movements. _"My movements! He's…"_

"Reading them," Kakashi finished the missing-nin's thoughts aloud, creeping his students and opponent out.

"_What? Did he read my mind?"_

He stared at his legendary opponent, glaring at the Sharingan, _"Damn! That…"_

"Freaky eye is pissing me off! Right?" The Copy Nin said to his enemy tauntingly.

When Zabuza started yelling, Kakashi shouted back in perfect unison, "All you're doing is copying me! You can't beat me, you monkey bastard!"

"_Damn! I'll make it so that you'll never open that mouth again!"_

He started with hand seals again, but stopped when he saw a fuzzy image of himself appear behind Kakashi.

"_W-what? Is this another of his damn Genjutsu!"_

Kakashi finished sealing, "Suiton: Daibaku no Jutsu!"

A great explosion of water picked Zabuza up and forced him into the trees! It traveled to the shore as well, soaking Tazuna and the three Genin!

Four kunai soared through the air, each one piercing an arm of a leg! The missing-nin cried out in pain! "Gaaahhh!"

Kakashi landed on a branch above him, kunai in hand, "It's over."

Zabuza looked up at him, surprise evident in his eyes, "How? Can you see the future?"

Kakashi and his Sharingan stared down at him, "Yeah. Your future is death."

WHOOSH! THUNK, THUNK! Two senbon flew through the air, lodging themselves deep in Zabuza's neck! Everyone spun around to see a masked Hunter-nin, "Yeah. He's dead alright."

He jumped down, landing next to Zabuza's body and beginning to lift it, "Thank you very much. I've been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza-san for a long time."

He hefted the missing-nin onto his shoulder, "I must dispose of this body. Farewell."

In a whirl of wind, he disappeared. Kakashi sighed, pulling his hitai-ate down over his Sharingan again, "Now, we have to get Tazuna-san home. Let's go!"

Tazuna went from 'silent observer' to 'happy hero' before their eyes, "Haha! Come over to my house and relax for a while."

Everyone sweatdropped as Kakashi fell flat on his face! Naruto poked the silver haired Jounin with his foot, "Uhhh. I think he's dead!"

Hinata giggled, leaning down to check on their sensei, "N-no, Naruto-kun. It's just Ch-chakra Depletion."

Naruto grinned evilly, "Well, Sasuke, since you didn't do anything, guess who gets to carry him!"

Sasuke grumbled about 'mean Hyugas' and 'cruel blondes' as he picked Kakashi up and slung him over his shoulder. They followed Tazuna as he led them to his home.

* * *

Naruto grinned happily as he slurped up Ramen, the Hyuga heiress next to him giggling at his antics. When he had finished his sixth bowl, he smiled at her, content with her company. They had become great friends, and Hinata hoped they would become even more than that…eventually… 

In the room next door, Kakashi lay down on a futon, covered up to his chin. Tazuna sat not too far away from him, laughing with a care free grin on his face, "Well, we defeated that super strong ninja! We should be safe for a while."

Sasuke just ignored him and Kakashi was asleep. The only one who really acknowledged his statement was his daughter, Tsunami.

A sharp gasp stopped all motion inside the Tazuna Household as Kakashi's eye snapped open…

* * *

**——————IMPORTANT A/N!——————**

A/N: Okay. I'm sorry I haven't posted the next chapter of "If Things Were Different" yet. I'm having a bit of writer's block with it and this little plot bunny popped into my head. For the moment, this shall be a one shot. You guys have a choice. You can vote either to further this story (in which case I'd try to get chapter two out and finish chapter five of ITWD) and turn it into a multi chapter, or you can vote to leave it a one shot and leave it where it lay.

If I get enough votes for leaving it, I'll probably continue it when I finish ITWD, which will probably be a year or so from now. If I get enough votes for continuing it immediately, I'll be posting for two stories, so it'll take longer for me to get the chapters out, but they'll be much better (and longer). This could mean that I finish both within a few months instead of a year, since I'll be taking some ideas from both stories and using them in each other .coughreality warp jutsucough

The last thing that may happen is that I'll disregard all the votes and scrap ITWD (it's officially on Hiatus now while I come up with new ideas) and work on this. Hopefully, it won't come to that, because I like both stories, I just like this one better (it doesn't have any OCs! A first in my stories!).

Anyway, I've got some news for you all. I've got a beta reader! Please welcome Kyra-chan!

**Kyra-chan:** Hello fellow Fanfictioners! I'll be Hideo-sama's beta reader and he is supposed to be mine but I haven't written anything yet, Oops…. That's all for now. Bye!

So Kyra-chan will be my beta and she'll help me with any mistakes I make and so on. I think all of you Naru/Hina fans out there will really appreciate the rest of this story (whenever I finish it. If you can't wait, then vote to have it continued immediately instead of later).

Now, one of the most important parts of this A/N. Whenever I DO continue this, it will always be NARU/HINA! I don't care WHAT any of you say, MY pairings are set in stone and it's MY story. If you don't like it, then suck it up and ignore the Naru/Hina fluff. Either that, or don't read. I WILL retaliate to any flames thrown my way about my choice in pairings! It's MY story, so what **I** say goes!

For those of you who like or just don't mind the pairing, I thank you for reading. Naru/Hina fans out there, thanks in advance for any support. It's greatly appreciated. Trust me, I've seen fics where authors have posted about getting flamed for the pairings they chose, and it's absolutely ridiculous.

Thanks for reading! Read and Review!

Ja ne!

Hideo Kazama (Kazama Hideo—風間 秀夫)


	2. The Bridge: Zabuza's Return

**A Simple Change: The Rasengan**

**By: **Hideo Kazama (秀夫　風間

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and co. Nor do I own "See You Space Cowboy" by Mai Yamane.

* * *

**

**I do, however, own this:**

_Sunrise brings Rebirth;_

_The dawn of a new day;_

_The Start of a new life,_

_Of a new beginning._

_Plants and animals Flourish under the warm Sun;_

_Everything is calm, peaceful, happy._

_But Sunset brings death;_

_The Terror of hopelessness;_

_The halt of life;_

_The end of the Beginning._

_Famine ravages the land, leaving corpses in its wake._

_The moon rises;_

_The only witness to the horror beneath its pale gaze._

_Then Sunrise comes, and everything begins anew._

——_Hideo Kazama_

**Chapter Two: The Bridge: Zabuza's Return

* * *

**

Kakashi bolted upwards, eye wide open, breathing heavily and clutching his left eye. He tried to calm his breathing, "S-something's wrong! Zabuza's not dead!"

A collective gasp swept the house, no one daring to dispute his claim. Naruto, though, had the courage to voice the question everyone wanted to ask, "What do you mean, sensei?"

Kakashi sighed, head hung, "Hunter-nin usually destroy the bodies of missing-nin on the spot, instead of moving it to another place."

Naruto didn't really understand the problem, "So?"

"Don't you see, Naruto? How did that masked boy destroy Zabuza's body?"

Naruto and his fellow Genin shared a look of enlightenment, "I see."

"So, in order to be prepared, we'll do some training tomorrow. You guys will learn some Chakra exercises."

* * *

The next day, Team Seven could be found in a small clearing in a large forest with tall trees. Kakashi, who was on crutches, lazily addressed his team of Genin, "Okay, guys (and girl), for training, we're going to do what's known as the tree climbing exercise!" 

Sasuke looked surprised and agitated, "Tree climbing?"

Naruto and Hinata raised their hands, speaking in unison, "But, Kakashi-sensei, I already know the Tree Climbing exercise!"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in mock surprise, "Oh? Naruto, I can understand Hinata knowing this exercise because the Hyuga are famous for their chakra control. But you? How do you know this exercise?"

Naruto put a finger to his lips, as if 'shooshing' his teacher, then looked around cautiously, "Big secret. Hush, hush. Not allowed to tell you."

Kakashi was undeterred, "Why's that?"

Naruto crossed his arms, "It's…"

The gray haired Jounin made a motion with his hand, "Yeah, yeah, it's what?"

Naruto frowned, "It's…classified."

Kakashi sweat dropped, "Umm…Yeah. Naruto, Hinata, since you two already know this, you may pursue your own training. Sasuke, follow me and I'll show you this exercise."

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms, following his hobbling sensei to a different area.

When Sasuke had left, Naruto turned to Hinata, a large grin on his face, "Hinata-chan! Want to learn a cool jutsu?"

Hinata blushed at the suffix he had added, then nodded shyly, "S-sure, Naruto-kun, I w-would love to."

Naruto nodded happily, then relaxed his face and body, breathing slowly and meaningfully. He moved his right arm in a flowing circular motion, then repeated it, blue sparks trailing from his fingertips. After going through the same motion about four times, his hand shot forth, middle and pointer fingers out, and a large bolt of electricity flew from his fingertips, striking and singeing a nearby tree trunk!

Naruto remained in his position, the skin on his fingertips burnt slightly, breathing heavily. Small wisps of smoke rose from his fingers, barely visible. Through gasps and pants, he said, "Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Hinata's eyes were wide with amazement, "Sugoi, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned, and then fell back on his butt, moving to sit Indian style, his legs crossed. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "Rakurai no Jutsu is really strong, but really draining and very dangerous."

He held up his now healing burnt fingers, "If my control hadn't been as good as it was, I could have blown my arm to pieces."

Hinata gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Naruto, seeing her face, reassured her, "Of course, I know better than to do something stupid like that."

It seemed to be all the brunette needed to calm down because a small smile graced her lips. She set her eyes determinately, her face firmly set into a determined look, "Teach me, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto grinned, jumping up excitedly. He circled her, adjusting her stance for a first timer. When he finished, she stood with her legs shoulder width apart and her knees bent, her torso turned slightly towards the same tree Naruto's attack had struck.

According to him, the chakra needed to be charged to a specific spot on the body slowly until it was of significant power. From there, it needed to be shoved from the user's body quickly and evenly, so as to prevent any nasty side effects. If it was performed correctly, the chakra turned lightning should gush from the spot towards the target. If the chakra was of significant power, the target would receive a nasty shock.

"As you continue to use it, gathering the chakra necessary should take less and less time, until you can do it instantaneously. As you can see, right now, it takes a while to gather the Chakra without hurting myself," Naruto grinned happily, "But I did just create it not too long ago."

He cleared his throat, "Now, you try Hinata-chan."

Nodding, the Hyuga heiress took a deep calming breath. Slowly, she brought her right hand up, moving it in a flowing motion side to side. She gently gathered chakra into her fingertips, willing it to stay where it was. As she continued her movements, she could hear the gentle buzz of electricity coming from her hand. She calmed herself, forcing her concentration on the task in front of her. When she thought she had gathered enough chakra, she shot her hand forward, pushing the gathered energy from her body!

Zzzt! A small bolt of lightning flew from her hand, impacting with the same tree Naruto's had!

She looked disappointed, her lightning bolt hadn't even made a scratch! _"I knew it!" _She told herself, _"I'm a loser! I don't deserve to be on the same team with Naruto-kun!"_

She was broken away from berating herself by Naruto's voice, "Good, for a first try. But you need to put more chakra into it; this is more of a finishing move than a regular combat Jutsu."

To demonstrate, he mimicked his early movements, electricity buzzing around his fingertips. With a sharp jabbing motion and a soft "Bang!" a large lightning bolt jumped from his fingers, forcing a part of the tree trunk to explode on contact!

Panting, he told her, "Not only is it very effective, but by practicing it, you can easily increase your chakra stamina!"

Nodding excitedly, Hinata copied his movements, allowing much more chakra to gather than she had before. With a battle cry, she thrust her fingers forth, forcing the chakra from her fingertips! A large bolt of lightning, about a fourth the size of Naruto's, leapt from her fingers, creating a scorch mark on the tree it hit!

Naruto cheered happily, hugging her excitedly, screaming, "You did it! You did it!"

He stopped when he noticed she had fainted, partially from his close proximity, partially from exhaustion. He set her down gently, and worriedly checked her vitals. He let out a sigh of relief when he could find nothing seriously wrong with her.

Smiling warmly, the blonde haired Genin put an arm beneath her knees and one behind her shoulders, picking her up bridal style. He slowly walked back to Tazuna's house, ignoring Sasuke as the dark haired boy continued his training.

* * *

Dinner was quiet that night in the Tazuna household. Naruto and Hinata sat side by side, just enjoying each other's company. Sasuke was gulping down food, desperately seeking the energy needed for the tree climbing exercise he had yet to finish. Kakashi had condiments and bottles placed strategically around him, keeping his face hidden from view. 

Taking his time to inspect the food in front of him, the blonde haired Genin noticed that everything, though filling and delicious, was something anyone could buy off of a kid's allowance in Konoha. It suddenly hit him very hard how precious little the people of Wave had. He frowned, setting down his chopsticks. Hinata was the first to notice something wrong with him.

She leaned closer to him, whispering, "Naruto-kun?"

The blonde's eyes were downcast, staring at his knees, "Tazuna-san…are things _really _so horrible?"­

The bridge builder stared at Naruto, sorrow written on his features, "Yeah…"

The old man sighed, for once looking his age, "Things weren't always so bad. Inari wasn't always so reclusive and cold. Everything was peaceful and pleasant…"

His fist clenched, "Then he came along and ruined it all! If he hadn't set his cold, frigid sights on our little country, things would be great! But he had to ruin it all! He took our money! He took our freedom! He took Inari's father from us!"

The entire Tazuna family froze at his last words, each for their own reason. The old man himself froze because he just realized what he had said. Tsunami froze because she was concerned over Inari. Inari himself froze because the words of his grandfather had caused a pang of anguish and fury to cut through his heart.

The dishes at the table clanged lightly as the young boy slammed his chopsticks down in front of him, his eyes invisible behind his hat. He stood abruptly, his head down and his arms tense at his sides. Without uttering a single word, he turned on his heel and ran from the room, leaving the rest of the people there to look at his retreating back.

Kakashi (with his mask on) turned to Tazuna, "Tazuna-san, what happened?"

Tazuna turned away, a grim, sad look on his face, "It's best you don't know. Suffice to say that the courage and bravery of this village was killed by Gatou. And in the same day with the same person, Inari lost the most important thing in his life."

Naruto laughed mirthlessly, "At least Inari had a father."

Seeing his distress, Hinata reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly. She blushed lightly when he smiled at her and squeezed back.

Standing and bowing, Naruto said, "Excuse me, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, I've lost my appetite."

Soundlessly, he left the room, Hinata following him a few short seconds later.

Sighing, Tazuna went back to his food, "I wonder how long it is until they figure it out?"

Chuckling good naturedly, Kakashi said, "It all depends. When will Naruto figure out that Hinata likes him and he likes her back? It might take a while…"

The gray haired Jounin sighed sadly, "…because Naruto has never had someone love him ever before. He doesn't know what love is…"

* * *

It had been a whole week since Kakashi had first taught Sasuke the Tree climbing exercise, and after those seven days, he had finally mastered it. It was night, and dinner had already been eaten. Everyone was relaxing when, for the fourth day in a row, Naruto walked in with Hinata in his arms. The shy brunette was unconscious _again_ and Naruto didn't even bother telling Kakashi why. He simply climbed the stairs to the room he and Hinata shared, (Kakashi didn't even remember how they had convinced him to let them do that) his eyes half closed. 

Kakashi had an idea as to the cause for such exhaustion, but…he'd keep that to himself. (A perverted giggle escaped his lips).

Before he knew it, Kakashi was awoken by the bright rays of the sun the next morning. He gently nudged Sasuke awake (they shared a room), rising from his beddings and making his way to the room next door (Naruto and Hinata's room). He gently rapped on the sliding door, still clothed in nothing more than a yukata and some pants.

When he received no response, he quietly slid the door open, peering inside the darkened room. What met his eyes was a very cute, yet very…lewd scene. Or at least it would have been, had less clothing been involved.

Naruto was asleep on his back, one arm beneath Hinata's shoulders, and the other lying on the floor beside him. Hinata was sleeping on her stomach, almost fully clothed (her jacket was missing) with her left arm thrown around Naruto's torso (which was lacking the usual haori). The dark haired girl's left leg was intertwined with the blonde's, which hinted that Naruto had probably fallen right to the floor as soon as he had reached the futons within the room.

Deciding that the scene was too cute to disturb, the gray haired Jounin slid the door closed, chuckling lightly. He headed back to get Sasuke back up (he was a heavy sleeper), then headed downstairs for breakfast.

Before long, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Tazuna left for the bridge, stomachs full and heads clear. Kakashi had left instructions with Tsunami that Naruto and Hinata were to follow them after they had woken and had breakfast.

* * *

Barely fifteen minutes later, Kakashi and his group had reached the bridge, only to be met with a horrible sight. 

Bodies littered the ground, broken and bleeding. Machinery and equipment were bent and broken, unusable. Blood splotches followed the corpses, staining the smooth concrete and dark wood.

Tazuna had barely been able to utter the question on everyone's mind before a thick, artificial mist rolled in, blocking their long distance sight, "What the Hell happened?"

A dark, creepy voice rang through the mist, laughing at them mockingly, "Long time no see, Kakashi. I see you're still with those brats. But what's this? Two of them are missing! What's the matter, did I scare them away?"

Kakashi smirked, "No, they're simply resting after a long day of hard work."

* * *

CRASH! BANG! 

Naruto bolted from his futon, eyes wide, "Who, what, where?"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!" a woman's scream came from downstairs, stirring Hinata from slumber as well.

The shy Hyuga rubbed the sleep from her eyes, rising next to Naruto, "Naruto-kun?"

"MOM!"

Naruto was on alert now, _"That voice belonged to Inari."_

Keeping his voice low, Naruto helped Hinata stand, "Get dressed quickly, Hinata-chan. We've got intruders downstairs."

Nodding firmly, Hinata followed his example, putting her jacket back on swiftly and quietly. Naruto himself pulled his haori back on, tucking it back in like it was meant to be. When they had both gotten dressed, Naruto pulled out a couple smoke bombs from his kunai pouch.

Without another word, they both disappeared into the shadows…

* * *

"MOM!" Inari shouted, surprised and fearful of the samurai standing his kitchen. 

"Run, Inari!" she warned, struggling in the grip of one of the sword carrying thugs.

The first samurai, who had an eye patch and his hair pulled into many topknots addressed his partner in crime, who wore a rain jacket, "Should we take him too?"

The other gave a slight shake of his head, "We only need one hostage."

The first samurai grinned, "Knock her out, I'll take care of him."

"Inari!" with the hilt of his sword, the second samurai (Zouri) hit her in the back of her head. She fell to the ground, out cold.

The first Samurai (Waraji) advanced on Inari, drawing his sword, "Heh. Say your prayers, kid."

Just as he was about to strike, four smoke bombs fell into the room, filling it with smoke. Waraji, surprised, tried to fan it away with his hands, "What the hell?"

"You shouldn't pick on someone smaller than you," said a voice from behind him.

"What?" Waraji said, whipping around to meet a fist in his face! With a loud "THUD!" he fell to the floor, undeniably unconscious. Not three seconds later, a man's scream could be heard as Zouri fell to the floor as well.

When the smoke cleared, Tsunami and her son, Inari, saw the two previously sleeping Genin tying up the two samurai thugs Gatou had sent to kidnap Tsunami. Naruto was wearing his usual old school shinobi uniform while Hinata was missing her jacket, leaving her in a black tank top, mesh shirt, and black pants. Around her neck was a small, teardrop shaped sapphire on a small, black string.

Straightening up, when Naruto saw how scantily clad his partner was (at least, in his opinion), he blushed a bit and looked away. Clearing his throat to distract himself and catch her attention, he spoke, "Hinata-chan…umm…your coat…"

The brunette Hyuga smiled at him, "Since we're going to fight a Jounin, I figured I'm going to need as much mobility as possible. Without my jacket, I have that."

Looking surprised and slightly embarrassed, Naruto nodded dumbly, "Right. Well, we should get going now. If this place was attacked, then the bridge is probably in need of defense as well."

Nodding, Hinata followed her partner to the door, her and Naruto stopping for a second when Tsunami's voice reached out to them, "Thank you! For everything!"

Naruto turned around, flashing the twenty nine year old woman a foxy grin, "No problem! Just doing our job!"

Spinning back around, the two remaining Genin of Team Seven leapt into the trees, intent on reaching the bridge as quickly as they're legs could carry them.

* * *

The dull thud of Senbon sinking into the concrete met Sasuke's ears as he dodged them, escaping his enemy's assault on him. The brunette Uchiha growled in frustration, coal black eyes narrowed angrily. A sharp whistle met his ears, warning him of the incoming attack. With a short grunt, he jumped out of the way again, his frustration growing as he failed to see where his opponent was. 

With another growl, Sasuke muttered, "Bastard."

The emotionless voice of the masked boy portrayed in all of the mirrors surrounding him met his ears, "I don't want to kill you. Just give up."

Sasuke snarled angrily, obsidian eyes narrowed in hatred, "Damn you!"

The dark haired Genin's ears twitched as he caught the sound of something flying through the air. Whipping around, he caught sight of a three pronged kunai flying in his direction!

Haku, for that was the masked boy's name, leaned out of the mirror he was in and caught the Kunai, slightly confused at its design. He was even more confused when a hard roundhouse kick suddenly slammed into his jaw, sending him flying from his mirrors!

Haku blinked when he saw someone standing over him, grinning like some kind of maniac. The masked boy's eyes widened when said person brought a foot up above his head, then brought it slamming down!

Rolling out of the way, Haku sprang up from the ground, dashing back into his mirrors. Naruto, the one who had kicked Haku (If you haven't figured that out, you're really stupid), frowned and jumped into the prison of mirrors, ready to help Sasuke.

Grabbing a Senbon, all of the Hakus in the mirrors suddenly flew at the pair of Genin, too fast for even Naruto's eyes!

The blonde Genin fell backwards, cuts and protruding senbon covering his body and tearing his clothes. Sasuke was in worse, but similar, condition. Their eyes flickered over the mirrors, seeking out a weakness.

Haku scoffed at their efforts, "It's no use. As long as I'm inside these ice mirrors, you'll never be able to follow my movements."

Suddenly, they both had an epiphany, their revelation occurring almost simultaneously, _"His mirrors are made of ice!"_

Sasuke flickered through hand seals, a confident smirk planted on his face. He stopped on tiger, pausing momentarily to watch Naruto charge up electricity into his right fore and middle fingers. _"What in the name of…?"_

Ignoring his curiosity, the dark haired boy shouted, "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" while Naruto yelled, "Raiton: Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Fire and lightning lashed out at the mirrors, sometimes mixing and breaking a mirror, but otherwise unsuccessful. The two Genin cursed almost in unison, "Damn! It didn't work!"

Haku attacked again, burying more Senbon in the two teammates. When he was safely back in his mirrors, he was warning them again, "Just give up now. I do _not _want to kill you!"

Wiping a bit of blood from his mouth, Naruto stood, "Bah! I wanted to save this Jutsu for a more skilled opponent, but I guess I have to use it on you!"

Naruto held out his hand, chakra gathering into a swirling orb a few inches from his palm. In under ten seconds, it was finished, a glowing blue ball of chakra whirling above the blonde's hand.

Naruto grinned, wholeheartedly convinced of his victory, "Now, Rasengan!"

He made a mad dash for the mirror in front of him, running as fast as he could. Unfortunately, with his chakra focused into the Rasengan, he couldn't fling a Kunai and use the Hiraishin. Thus, Haku easily outran him and knocked him backwards, sending the Rasengan into the concrete. A large hole was created, exploding bits of cement into the air!

With a pained yell, Naruto clutched his now bleeding right arm, glaring at Haku angrily. He cursed under his breath, "Bastard!"

* * *

"Sorry, Zabuza," Kakashi said, pulling his hitai-ate up, exposing his Sharingan, "But I have to end this now!" 

The ex-mist-nin chuckled, "Sharingan? Is that all you can do, monkey boy?"

Zabuza chuckled darkly, "Hehe, a shinobi's supreme technique is not something that should be showed to the opponent over and over…"

Kakashi interrupted him, "You should feel honored. You're the only person to see it twice. And there definitely won't be a third time."

Zabuza wasn't fazed, "Heh. Even if you beat me, you'll never beat Haku. He's even stronger than I am!"

Kakashi snorted, "There's nothing as boring as a man's bragging."

"Hehehe. I've figured out the trivial system of that eye. Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu!"

* * *

"Damn! All we're doing is running around!" 

"Shut up, Naruto! Just try to avoid a serious wound!"

Sasuke was kneeling next to his comrade, a kunai in his grip, "Why the Hell can't you use that special speed Jutsu of yours? We could sure as hell use it!"

Naruto snarled, "Because, Dumbass, I don't have enough Chakra! And _you're _supposed to be the genius!"

He began to count the reasons on his fingers, "A Rasengan, a long distance Hiraishin, and a Rakurai no Jutsu! Hell, if I was normal, I'd have died of chakra depletion after the first two!"

As they dodged another barrage, Sasuke yelled back, "Well, then help me think of a plan!"

Another swarm of Senbon, another dodge, and more chakra used up, "Dammit, Naruto! C'mon!"

"I can't think of anything right now, Bastard!"

* * *

"_With the mist this thick, Zabuza shouldn't be able to see either."_

With a few loud clangs, Kakashi batted away a group of shuriken using a Kunai!

"Hehehe, impressive, Kakashi. But the next time you see me, everything will be over! Your Sharingan is overrated! With the mist this thick, you can't see me to copy my movements, and with my eyes closed, you can't use that eye of yours to cast a Genjutsu on me!"

"But then you're not able to see!"

Zabuza laughed, "Have you forgotten so easily? I'm a master of silent killing. I can take my target out by sound alone!"

"_Calm down, Kakashi. Now, where would he attack? …Oh, no! Tazuna!"_

_

* * *

_

"_Calm down. Concentrate. And see through it!"_

With a burst of speed, Sasuke pushed Naruto out of the way and dodged Haku's latest slash, rolling when he hit the ground! Sasuke lifted his head to glare at Haku.

"_Those eyes! The Sharingan! I must finish quickly!"_

Intent on catching Sasuke off guard, Haku rushed at the exhausted Naruto, Senbon at the ready. Realizing his target, Sasuke dashed forward to intercept.

When Naruto opened his eyes again, Haku was laying on the ground a few yards away and Sasuke was standing above him, shaking slightly. Feeling an onrush of relief, Naruto said, "Sasuke, you did it!"

Coughing up blood, Sasuke fell backwards into Naruto's unprepared hands, "What? Why?"

"D-don't know. M-my body m-moved on its own," Sasuke's voice was hoarse and weak, "Don't die, N-Naruto."

With a final sigh, Sasuke's eyes closed.

Hoping to finally defeat his enemy, Haku rushed the blonde, who was too tired, emotionally and physically, to move, "This is the end!"

"Naruto-kun!"

With a rough shove, Naruto was thrown away from a lethal blow yet again, this time by Hinata. When he realized who had pushed him, he scrambled over on his hands and knees as she fell, a vital artery broken and slowly bleeding, "Hi-Hinata-chan!"

He picked her up and set her head on his thighs, trying to stem the bleeding with his fingers. Tears clouded the edges of his vision, making the injury seem less serious than it was.

Slowly, Hinata rose her hand to his face, stroking his cheek softly, "T-tatoe ino-inochi tsu-tsukite mo, kono ai o ke-kese wa shinai. S-sore wa tow-towa o i-ikiru ko-koto."

The damn broke, and Naruto wept, tears of sadness flowing from his eyes. Throughout it all, he held her close. Close enough to hear her final words, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun…"

_Subete wa mou owatta to  
Mimi o fusaida mama de kimi ga iu_

His heart stopped, his tears dripping down his face and onto her wound as she closed her eyes one last time. With her, he felt a part of his soul disappear into nothingness.

_Kotoba wa tada nagarete'ku  
Yasuragu koto no nai ashita e_

Red chakra gathered, condensing around his form. It whipped around, lashing out at the ground and his surroundings, forcing Haku to wince at its intensity.

_Inori sae mo kieta yoru  
Nani o shinjite doko e kimi ga yuku  
Namida-iro no ryuusei ga azawarau you ni ima sugite'ku_

As crimson bled into his irises, Naruto raised his head to the sky, roaring at the heavens, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

_Kawaranu mono nado ari wa shinai sa to!_

Naruto roared out his anger and frustration, tears streaming down his face, until he was out of breath (a very long time). It sent vibrations through the bridge causing Tazuna to fall on his butt, surprised.

_Tatoe inochi tsukite mo  
Kono ai o kese wa shinai_

It even reached the fight between Kakashi and Zabuza. _"What? What is this Chakra? It isn't Haku! And it's too strong to be Kakashi!"_

"_NO! The seal! Is it intact?"_

_Sore wa towa o ikiru koto  
Yume wa yami ni kakurete mo_

"_What is this horrible Chakra? How could he produce such a thing? And in such a huge amount!"_

_I GOT A RAINBOW  
IN MY HANDS…_

"_NO, NO, NO, NO! HINATA-CHAN! HINATA-CHAN!"_

_Mune no oku o wataru koe ga  
Kesshite kawaranu mono mo aru to iu  
Shinjitsu no mae ni inoru asa_

"I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" As Naruto stood, the cuts on his body healed and the protruding Senbon were forced from him. The chakra condensed around his body, forming a translucent fox that had one, bubbling tail.

_Ai wa futatabi koko e modoru darou_

"Zabuza! This might not suit your style, but," Kakashi unrolled a scroll, wiped some blood on it, then flung it up in the air as he did hand seals, "Let's end the fun!"

_Love never dies  
Love never feigns  
Love never ever fades away!_

With an unexpected burst of speed, Naruto dashed for his enemy, running on all fours like an animal!

"_What monstrous killing intent!"_

Haku backed away towards his mirrors, tossing a handful of senbon to slow him down! They bounced off of the silhouette of chakra, melted and bent. When he had made it back into a mirror, Haku immediately took off for another in hopes of evading any attacks.

_Itsuka inochi tsukite mo  
Kono ai o kese wa shinai_

Unfortunately for Haku, he wasn't fast enough, and Naruto grabbed him by the ankle, throwing him through a mirror.

_Sore wa towa ni ikiru mono  
Yami o yaburi_

As Haku flew through the mirror, a hard fist collided with his mask, cracking it and sending him back into his mirror prison!

_Toki no naka de kooritsuku  
Maboroshi o oikoshita toki_

As Haku stood, Naruto came flying through the space left open by the destroyed mirror, hand poised to make the final blow…

_Niji no kanata ai wa matsu  
Ikusen no hikari ga matsu_

"Naruto-kun!" a soft voice cried!

_You got a rainbow  
Rainbow in your hands…_

Naruto stopped, hand inches away from a fatal blow to Haku's heart. Slowly, as though afraid of what he would discover, he turned, his crimson gaze a bit lighter than before.

There, on the ground where Hinata had said those meaningful words, was the girl herself, pale from blood loss and struggling to stand. The lack of blood had weakened her significantly.

"Hi-Hinata-chan!" Naruto whispered, as if he was unable to believe what he saw.

As Hinata fell back to the ground after another attempt at standing, Naruto was at her side in an instant, picking her up and swinging her around happily. Over and over he screamed, "Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan!"

* * *

Kakashi sighed as the malevolent chakra vanished almost completely, returning his attention to Zabuza in front of him, "The mist has cleared, your future is death." 

Going through three quick seals, Kakashi braced his right arm with his left hand. Chakra began to crackle around it, buzzing like a thousand angry birds, "Raikiri!"

With the chakra under his control, Kakashi prepared to make a dash, "You are too dangerous Zabuza. This is where it ends!"

A low clapping brought everyone's attention towards the other end of the bridge, where a man with gray hair in a business suit stood. A hundred or so rogue samurai stood behind him, all grinning victoriously.

The gray haired businessman, Gatou, stopped clapping, his glasses gleaming in the now revealed sun, "I came here to get rid of you, Zabuza, but I got something more in return. I got to watch you and your snotty partner get your asses kicked!"

Zabuza turned towards him, "Kakashi, now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you. Our battle is over."

Kakashi nodded, then looked over to Naruto, who was standing with Hinata a few yards away, "Naruto! You have enough chakra to give Zabuza a hand? I'm sure he could use some _quick _and _speedy _help!"

"Haku! Let's take this bastard out!"

"Hai, Zabuza-san!"

Kakashi turned his head and closed his eyes as Naruto defended the mist duo while Zabuza and Haku plowed right through the ranks of the Samurai and killed Gatou!

With the entirety of Gatou's hired men too shocked to prevent their escape, Naruto, Zabuza, and Haku returned, out of breath and tired, to stand next to Kakashi. Hinata rushed over as fast as her legs would allow and clung to Naruto's side, concerned and fretting over his new flesh wounds (Not that she was in much better shape. She had lost a lot of blood, regardless of the missing cuts).

Kakashi eye smiled at his pupil as Sasuke stirred where the previous ice mirrors were, "Good job, Naruto."

"Hey, hey!" one of the samurai yelled, "You killed our meal ticket! The means we have to pillage the city and take everything of value!"

The group behind him shouted in agreement.

Just as they were about to charge, a crossbow arrow landed in front of them, and, when everyone looked to see where it came from, they saw the whole village standing on the bridge with whatever weapon they could have found (pots, pans, pitchforks, etc.).

"Don't come any closer," one said, "Or heads will roll!"

Grinning, Naruto turned to his teacher, "Kakashi-sensei! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kakashi grinned back through his mask, "I think I am!"

They made a hand seal in unison, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The Kakashi clones flexed their muscles, "You want some of this?"

All at once, the enemy samurai fled as fast as they could from the bridge.

"Kakashi…" Zabuza said.

"Yeah," the Jounin answered.

"I think…I think it's time Haku and I stopped running. If you and your village would allow it…I think Konoha would be a good place for us…for Haku."

Kakashi smiled, "I'll escort you to Hokage-sama personally."

* * *

Two weeks later… 

"Thanks to you, we've completed the bridge," Tazuna said, ruffling his grandson's hair.

"Thank you for everything, Tazuna-san. We'll be seeing you later." Kakashi smiled before he and his team turned heading for Konoha.

Tazuna smiled, "Let's call this bridge…The Great Naruto Bridge…"

* * *

As Team Seven and the mist duo headed back to Konoha, Naruto and Hinata fell behind, walking together. Blushing, Hinata asked, "Ano…Naruto-kun, about what I said…do you…Ano…do you feel…the same?" 

Naruto sighed, "Hinata-chan…When I thought you had died…That's the saddest I've ever been in my entire life. I felt as if I'd lost a piece of my soul. It felt as if my heart was ripped out and shredded to pieces."

Hinata looked at him, understanding in her eyes. She hung onto his every word as he continued, "But…but, I suppose I'm glad that it happened, because…it opened my eyes…"

He sighed, "If you…If you had really died, I don't know what I would have done. I don't think I'd have wanted to live without you. In that instant, I realized…"

He laced his fingers with hers, squeezing her hand, "I realized that I finally understood what love was…and that I was in love already, I just hadn't known."

Leaning down, he planted a soft kiss on her cheek, "Aishiteru, Hinata-chan."

Laying her head against his shoulder, she smiled lightly, "Aishiteru, Naruto-kun."

* * *

**A/N **Yeah, in case you didn't recognize it by the song lyrics, I'm a "Cowboy Bebop" fan. That song just seemed to fit into that spot. And I know many of you are wondering how Hinata's fatal wound healed. I'll reveal that next chapter during Naruto's talk with Kyubi before the Chuunin Exams. 

I just couldn't kill Haku and Zabuza. All right, guys and girls, how many of you cried when Hinata-chan 'died'? I know I almost did, and I knew what was going to happen.

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Kyra-chan will not be able to beta read because of a stupid internet problem I'm having. I hope it's fixed soon so that she can proofread the next couple chapters for me. I still have enough contact with her to have "Kyra-chan's Corner" as I've come to call it, but that's it.

Translation time!

Tatoe inochi tsukite mo, kono ai o kese wa shinai -Even if my life ends, this love will not disappear.

Sore wa towa o ikiru koto -It's something that will live forever

Aishiteru -I love you

Rakurai -Thunderbolt/Bolt of lightning

Right then! Read and review!

Ja ne!

Hideo Kazama


	3. The Chuunin Exams!

**A Simple Change: The Rasengan**

**By: **Hideo Kazama (秀夫　風間

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and co. **

**Chapter Three: The Chuunin Exams

* * *

**

One day, after a mission, Naruto and Hinata were walking down an alleyway, alone (Sasuke had left for his own reasons).

Hinata giggled as Naruto made a joke at the cold Uchiha's expense. Grinning happily, Naruto laughed with her.

As their laughing subsided, Naruto leaned closer to her, whispering in her ear, "What do you say we go to Ichiraku's for lunch?"

Smiling, she replied, "I'd love to, Naruto-kun."

A peculiar looking box watched them as they walked down the fenced in alley, hands intertwined. It peered at them, following behind them as they continued walking.

Naruto stopped when he felt three extra chakra signatures behind him and Hinata, one of which he recognized. Sighing, he turned his head to see a box painted to look like a rock _following_ him.

Shaking his head (Hinata had asked if something was wrong), he continued walking for a few seconds, waiting to hear to box shuffle after him. When he did indeed hear it follow him, he sighed and slowly turned around, "Konohamaru, rocks aren't square or rectangular."

The box flew upward and three, short Academy students appeared from underneath it. The middle one, who wore a scarf around his neck, said, "That's the man I view as my rival!"

Hinata released her fingers with Naruto's, staring questioningly at the three, "Um…Naruto-kun, who are these three?"

After introducing themselves, Konohamaru stared at her, having just noticed the no longer shy Hyuga, "Hey, Niisan! Who's this girl?"

His gaze traveled to their interlaced fingers, and he suddenly understood, "Oh! She's your…" he wiggled his pinky finger, "…this! Right?"

Naruto chuckled amusedly, squeezing Hinata's hand lightly, "You're a really perceptive brat, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru suddenly jumped up, "Niisan! You promised to play ninja with us today!"

Naruto tapped his chin with his finger, thinking, "Hmmm…Well, I'm busy so I'll only have time for one game."

The Third's grandson and his companions giggled excitedly, "That's okay, Niisan!"

"Alright, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon," he said, letting go of Hinata's hand and fishing through his kunai pouch, "The game is simple. I'm going to throw a kunai down the alley. What you need to do is touch that kunai before I tag you, got it?"

"Alright, Niisan!"

Nodding, Naruto threw a three pronged kunai down the alleyway, watching it land about fifteen yards away. Grinning, he turned back around to face the Academy trio, "I'll give you a three second head start."

As quickly as they could, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon ran towards the Kunai, hearing Naruto slowly count to three.

"One."

They had gotten about five yards, with still at least ten yards ahead of them.

"Two."

Their goal was only six yards away. They were almost there. Just a little farther.

"Three."

Konohamaru dived, trying his best to tag the kunai and claim victory. He closed his eyes and slid towards the three pronged piece of steel.

He opened them again when he felt something touching the bridge of his nose, and he saw Naruto kneeling in front of him, outstretched finger in contact with Konohamaru's nose.

The three Academy students looked at him in awe, "Niisan! How'd you do that?"

Naruto grinned, "That's a secret!"

Konohamaru jumped up from the ground, hand clenched in confidence, "Okay! Let's play tag now! You're it Niisan!"

He and his companions rushed off down the alley, leaving behind a stunned Naruto and Hinata.

Regaining his wits, Naruto rushed after them, Hinata on his heels.

When they finally caught up, Konohamaru had bumped into a strange boy dressed in black and wearing Kabuki make up.

The boy in black picked the Sandaime's grandson, growling angrily, "That hurt!"

The blonde girl standing next to him looked around nervously, "Don't. We'll get yelled at later."

Naruto skidded to a stop a few yards away, growling angrily as red bled into his dark amethyst eyes, "Let him go before you regret it."

The boy laughed, "Let's play a little before the boss comes."

He smirked, one of his fists clenched, "Basically, I hate midgets. Especially younger ones that are rude…makes me want to kill them."

Naruto tossed one of his special kunai, watching as the boy moved his leg slightly to dodge it.

The black clothed boy's smirk widened as he thought he had won, "Well, after this one, I'll take care of that other annoying midget!"

He brought his fist back, ignoring the smirk on Naruto's face. He swung his fist, aiming at Konohamaru's head.

WHAM! He was sent flying as Naruto suddenly punched him from behind.

The boy in Kabuki face paint stood, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, "Bastard! What was that?"

Naruto grinned, pulling his kunai from the ground and twirling it on his finger for all to see, "I have tons more of these. These Kunai are coated in diamond, making them indestructible, and have a special seal on them that allows me to instantaneously travel to them using my chakra."

Naruto's grin widened, "The last person to use this technique was very famous. I believe he was called the Yellow Flash."

Naruto's grin faded as he turned when he felt a large amount of killing intent spike from the tree behind them. His gaze fell onto a red haired boy with a gourd on his back that was hanging upside down from a tree branch.

The red haired boy ignored his gaze in favor of scolding the boy in black, "Kankuro…you're an embarrassment to our village."

Kankuro looked nervous, "G-Gaara. Listen, Gaara, they started it!"

"Shut up!" Gaara said, "Or I'll kill you!"

Kankuro shook nervously, "Okay, Gaara, I-I'm sorry."

Gaara turned his gaze to Naruto, "I apologize for this idiot's behavior." _"To be that fast…He's good."_

In a whirl of sand, he disappeared, reappearing on the ground, "It looks like we got here early; the Chuunin Exam hasn't started yet."

Gaara walked forward, stopping a few feet in front of Naruto, who had grasped Hinata's hand, "I am Sabaku no Gaara. What's your name?"

Keeping his eyes on Gaara, Naruto said, "I am Uzumaki Naruto."

Nodding, Gaara turned to leave, stopping a few yards away, "…I hope to see you in the Chuunin Exams, Uzumaki-san."

Unnoticed up in the tree, Sasuke scowled angrily at the people before him.

* * *

That night…

Naruto was having a weird dream. He was in a hallway with many locked doors. The floor was wet and was flooded with water up to his shins. At the end of the hallway, a dark red light glowed ominously, luring him closer as he tried to determine where he was.

He continued down the hallway, ignoring the red and blue pipes above his head. He almost tripped once or twice, but he was otherwise fine. He turned the corner and the glow intensified. When he turned another corner, he found himself in a large room full of pipes and a large wall of bars. The glow seemed to originate from those bars, flowing along the red pipes as well.

From within the cage those bars created, two large, red eyes stared at him, as if sizing him up.

"**Come here, brat," **a deep voice said, coming from the general direction of the large eyes, **"We have much to talk about."**

Naruto walked forward, wading through the shallow water. He stopped about fifteen feet from the cage, wondering if this was just some strange dream, or if it was something else (his gut told him it wasn't a dream).

"**So, this is my container?" **the voice growled, animalistic in nature, **"Doesn't look like much."**

Naruto snorted, "I take it you've never heard the phrase "never judge a book by its cover"?"

Whatever the voice belonged to laughed; a deep, throaty laugh, somehow amused, **"I like you, kid. You've got spunk!"**

It stopped laughing, staring at him again, **"But that's not the point. The point is, do you know who or what I am?"**

Naruto tapped his chin, "Hmmm…Well, I have a guess…"

He sat down cross legged, ignoring the fact that his pants got wet, "If I had to guess, I'd say you're the Kyubi no Yoko sealed inside of me."

The voice chuckled again, **"Very good, boy, you're smarter than I give you credit for. Yes, I am Kyubi, but introductions are not why I interrupted your dreams of that dark haired girl to call you here."**

The Kyubi shuffled around in its cage, standing and softly padding towards the bars, thus revealing its massive body. Its orange fur seemed almost to glisten in the soft red glow, **"I called you here because your body is constantly absorbing my chakra at a remarkable rate. I blame the damn bastard that made this seal for this, but there's nothing that can be done to prevent it. Within a few months, you'll have absorbed all my chakra and I'll die."**

"And…why should I care?"

"**Because you OWE me. If it hadn't been for me taking pity on you, your precious girlfriend would have died from her wounds in Wave Country on that bridge! She only survived because I wanted her to!"**

Naruto scowled angrily, "What do you want from me?"

It grinned down at him, **"Good boy. Now, since I can't stop the absorption of my chakra, we'll have to tweak the seal a bit to allow our souls to bond. This should slow down the absorption a bit and prevent my death even when you've absorbed all of my chakra. With our souls bound together, I'll only die when you do."**

Naruto was hesitant to trust it, and knew there was something else going on, "What will the side effects be and how do I do it?"

The Kyubi lay down, its head resting on its paws, **"As a side effect, your healing rate should sky rocket and your senses should go off the charts. However, you'll also have to relearn your chakra exercises and use _that_ Jutsu again. Another slight side effect is the possible creation of a new Doujutsu similar to the Sharingan or Byakugan. The chances of that are slim, though. And you don't have to do anything but give me permission to tamper with the seal enough to cause this merge. So do I have permission?"**

Sighing, Naruto stood, looking the beast right in the eye, "Yes, you have my permission to tamper with the seal _only_ enough to cause this merge. There, happy?"

It grinned at him playfully, though it looked more feral due to his nature and body, **"More so than you could ever imagine. Now, WAKE UP!"**

* * *

With a jolt, Naruto sat up in bed, eyes wide open and searching frantically. When he realized where he was, he calmed himself, forcing his breathing rate back to normal. Sighing, he wiped some sweat off his forehead, "I guess it was just a dream."

Pain suddenly lanced through his stomach, forcing him to double over holding his midsection. A burning sensation spread through his body, traveling from his stomach to his ears, eyes, nose, and fingertips. He bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming, grunting when it didn't help much.

Behind his closed eyelids, his pupils became elongated and slit, reminiscent of an animal's. The light amethyst of his irises darkened, fading back into their natural blue. His fingernails grew into sharp, one inch claws, and then retracted back into normal fingernails, an almost unnoticeable point to them.

Finally, after spending a whole fifteen minutes writhing in agony, the pain disappeared, leaving a dull throb where it had been. As he sat there, panting and trying to calm down, he could have sworn he heard a low chuckle. When he couldn't find the source, he wrote it off as his imagination.

"**Did I forget to mention it would hurt like hell?"**

"Kyubi! Where are you?"

Adopting a soft, sage-like tone, the beast replied, **"It's all in your head."**

Naruto blinked, "What?"

A sigh echoed through Naruto's mind, **"I'm contacting you telepathically from my prison. And you might want to reply back telepathically, it might look weird if someone hears you talking to yourself."**

"_Oh, right."_

"**Right. I think there's about a fifty percent chance that you have a doujutsu now. Your senses should enhance themselves while you sleep. It'll probably be a pain in the ass for you tomorrow when you wake up to blinding light and deafening sound, but…I think you can handle it. Even so, I would suggest wearing your hitai-ate over your eyes and walking around using your ears till you get used to them."**

Naruto cringed a bit, but replied all the same, _"Uh huh. Since you're the expert, I'll take your advice."_

When all he heard was silence, Naruto fell back against his pillows, a sigh escaping his lips, _"Tomorrow will be a looooong day."_

He was asleep a few seconds later.

* * *

The Next day, at the bridge where Team Seven meets…

Naruto walked onto the bridge that was their meeting spot, sniffing out two distinct scents. The first was of lavender with a slight hint of jasmine shampoo. That he identified as Hinata, how he knew, he could only guess. The next scent was of spice, dirt, and sweat, which meant it had to belong to Sasuke, since there was the lingering smell of cherry blossoms on him that spoke of Sakura.

He also noticed he could hear their hearts beat if he listened closely enough. His musings were interrupted as he heard the rush of air displacement that signified the Shunshin no Jutsu that Kakashi used. Kakashi, Naruto noticed, smelled of granite and dogs. There was also an old underlying smell of blood. It was very weak and hard to notice, but it was there.

"Dobe," Sasuke said, his tone condescending, "Why are you wearing your Hitai-ate over your eyes?"

Naruto frowned, turning his head towards him (which surprised the boy to no end), "Because, Sasuke-teme, I activated a Kekke Genkai yesterday during training. Now, my eyes, ears, and nose are hypersensitive. I almost blinded myself when I woke up this morning!"

Hinata giggled at his tone, "Since I got up today, I've been finding my way around town using my ears and nose. Later today, I'm going to try to get used to my sensitive eyes."

"Well, anyway," Kakashi said, bringing the attention to him, "This is sudden, but, I've nominated you for the Chuunin Exams."

Pulling out three slips of paper from who knows where, he said, "Here are your application forms. If you want to take the Exam, sign those forms and take them to room 301 by 4pm tomorrow. That is all…"

In a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

* * *

The next day, at the Academy…

Team Seven climbed the stairs, watching two Genin try to get through to the room labeled 301. They watched as one of the Genin guarding the door chuckled, "We're just thinning out those that will fail anyways. What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke walked up, becoming the center of attention, "I agree, but you will let me through and…remove the Genjutsu on the door."

The second of the Genin guarding the door grinned, "So, you noticed."

Sasuke smirked, "Of course. But Hinata probably noticed first. With her Byakugan and skill with Genjutsu, it should have been easy for her to figure out."

Hinata nodded firmly, "Hai."

Naruto chuckled, interlacing his fingers with hers, "Any real Genin should have noticed that Genjutsu easily. Anyone who didn't should head back to the Academy for another lesson on the basics."

The air around the door's label shimmered, morphing the "301" into "201". The first of guards smirked, his spiky hair obscuring his eyes from view, "Not bad. But all you did was see through it!"

He rushed Sasuke, sending a roundhouse kick to the Uchiha's face. Sasuke responded in turn, sending out a kick of his own.

A large blur appeared between them, grabbing hold of their legs. It turned out to be the Genin from earlier that wore the funky green spandex. But beneath him, holding a kunai to two of the three boys' necks was Naruto, wearing a black tee shirt and black ANBU pants instead of his normal 'old school' garb. (ANBU pants are almost identical to the Jounin style that Kakashi wears. The only difference is that the 'ankle wraps' that start halfway down the shins are black)

In a chiding tone, he said, "Now, now, Sasuke-chan, can't have you being beat up so soon."

Naruto stood as the others did, allowing the audience a clear view of the back of his shirt. Stitched in what was clearly silver silk was the kanji for the name "Genkuro".  
(現黒)

Ignoring Lee (the one in the funky spandex) and the others, Naruto walked back over to Hinata, lacing his fingers with hers. Without a backward glance (though Hinata could feel her cousin glaring at her), they left for the third floor, Sasuke following them shortly afterward.

* * *

As they came closer to their destination, a voice called out from the balcony above them, "Hey, guy with the dark eyes!"

Turning around, Team Seven noticed Lee standing up in the balcony, black eyes focused wholly on Sasuke, "Will you fight me right here?"

He jumped down from the balcony, "My name is Rock Lee. When you want to know a person's name, you introduce yourself first, right?"

Sasuke smirked, "Uchiha Sasuke. Heh, so you know?"

Lee moved into a Taijutsu stance, "I want to test my skills against the offspring of the Genius ninja clan."

Naruto tuned out the fight, deeming it pointless. After all, how was it his business if the great and mighty Uchiha Sasuke lost a fight?

Naruto had to strengthen his control when the fight ended and Lee's sensei, Maito Gai, showed up clad in the same green spandex as his student. His interest was slightly peeked when Gai claimed to be Kakashi's rival, but he overall ignored it.

When everything was said and done, Sasuke had lost his fight, and the team had been introduced to another of the Jounin senseis, even if he was from a year before them.

Now, they stood in front of the large double doors that would take them to the Chuunin Exam. With their hearts pounding from anxiety, they pushed open the doors and stepped inside.

No sooner had they walked through the doors than a rabid blonde girl flung herself on Sasuke, screaming, "Sasuke-kun! You're late!"

She hung off his shoulder, ignoring or just not noticing the scowl on his face. With a ridiculous grin on her face, she whispered into his ear, "I haven't seen you for a while, so I've been waiting in excitement!"

"You guys are taking this stupid test too? Man, this sucks." a voice said. Turning, Naruto distinctly saw the pineapple shaped hair of Nara Shikamaru and the obese form of Akimichi Chouji.

Grinning mischievously, he said, "Hey! If it isn't the idiot trio!"

"Well, well," Naruto found himself turning again to seek out the owner of the voice, though he had a good idea of who it was, "It seems all of the rookie nine are here. I wonder how far we'll get, eh, Sasuke-kun?"

All of the sudden, Inuzuka Kiba, the owner of that voice, was pummeled by two rabid Sasuke fangirls (Sakura and Ino), one of which was his own teammate. The last member of team eight, Aburame Shino, shook his head in disappointment.

Sasuke smirked, "You seem confident, Kiba. Care to say that again from where you are on the floor?"

For the third time that day, Naruto turned to find the owner of a new, older voice, "Hey you guys. You should be quieter."

The speaker had long silver hair pulled into a ponytail and glasses. Naruto snorted, and ignored the majority of his speech, only registering that his name was Kabuto. His interest was peaked, however, when the older Genin mentioned his "nin info cards".

Apparently, Sasuke was also interested, "Do you have info on individuals?"

Kabuto nodded, "Yup."

Sasuke smirked in a satisfied way, "Then, find me…Gaara of the Hidden Sand and Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf."

Kabuto smiled, "Oh, you have their names. This should be easy then. We'll start off with Uzumaki Naruto."

Swiping a card off of the deck, Kabuto added chakra to it and…it remained blank, "It appears that there isn't an Uzumaki Naruto."

"Not possible," Sasuke growled, jerking his head in Naruto's direction, "Because he's standing right here!"

Kabuto looked up, adjusting his glasses, "Oh. You're Naruto, eh? Well, I guess I could do a search on people with the name Naruto. Even if there's more than one, we know what he looks like, ne?"

The veteran leaf nin took another card from the stack, channeling chakra into it. He smiled when the picture showed who he was looking for, "Ah, here we go! But his last name isn't Uzumaki, it's…"

Kabuto froze as he read the surname belonging to the person on the card. Shakily, he said, "K-Kazama! B-but how? They're all dead!"

Sasuke had grown impatient, "What does it _say_?"

Stuttering slightly, he said, "K-Kazama Naruto. Age: Twelve. Mission History: Fifteen D-rank, One A-rank. His sensei is Kakashi and his teammates are Uchiha Sasuke, his rival, and Hyuga Hinata, who is his girlfriend. His most noticeable skills are the A-ranked Jutsu Rasengan and-and…"

Sasuke growled, "Spit it out already!"

"…the super S-ranked Ninjutsu invented by the Yondaime, Hiraishin no Jutsu!"

Sakura asked a question everyone wanted the answer to, "What's so special about the name Kazama? I mean, sure, it's a bit weird that Naruto's surname was changed to Uzumaki, but what's so great about it?"

Kabuto sighed, putting the card back into the stack, "You don't get it, do you? The Yondaime's name was Kazama Arashi, and he was famous in most of the Five Great Countries for his special Jutsu, Hiraishin. But he was an orphan. He had no family: No parents, no aunts and uncles, no brothers or sisters, or cousins. This means that there's only one possible way Naruto's surname is Kazama. He'd have to be…"

"…Yondaime's son…" Naruto finished, a look of sadness and surprise on his face. Hinata interlaced her fingers with his, squeezing his hand firmly.

Attempting to break the awkward silence that had befallen the group, Kabuto pulled out another card, "Okay! Next, Rock Lee. Age: 13. Mission History: 20 D-rank, 11 C-rank. His sensei is Maito Gai and his teammates are Hyuga Neji and Tenten. His most notable skill is his Taijutsu."

Putting that card back, he took out another, charging it with chakra, "Next is Gaara. Mission History: 8 C-rank and One B-rank. I don't have much info, but…he appears to have come back from every mission without a scratch."

"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!" a voice said from the front, originating from a cloud of smoke. When the smoke had cleared, a man wearing a black trench coat stood in front of a group of ninja wearing…military uniforms.

"Thanks for waiting," the man said, "I am Morino Ibiki, examiner for the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam. There will be no fighting without the Examiner's permission, and even then, killing is not tolerated."

He leveled a glare at them, "Those that defy my orders will be failed immediately. Understood?"

"We will now start the Chuunin Exam's first test," picking up a small object, Ibiki held it up for all to see, "You will pick up one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you. Then the test will be handed out."

Once everyone had been seated, Ibiki picked up a peace of chalk and wrote the rules on the board, going over them aloud as well. After he had explained the rules in explicit detail, he gave the group a once over, "Begin!"

There was a collective shuffle as the entire group flipped over their tests. Sasuke stared down at question one, skipping over it when he couldn't answer. Naruto was in a similar situation, skimming over each of the questions as he attempted to formulate and answer. With a frown, both Genins came to a singular conclusion, _"I can't answer a single one of these."_

"_This doesn't make sense," _Sasuke told himself, _"These questions aren't meant for people of our level. No regular Genin could answer these questions correctly, let alone without getting caught."_

"_The way the examiners are looking at us…it's as if they expect us to cheat," _Naruto was trying to figure out the test in front of him, _"And with the difficulty of the questions…"_

Ibiki's words returned to Naruto, unbidden, "As Shinobis trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud ninjas."

"_That's it!" _Now Naruto understood the purpose,_ "This test isn't about knowing the answers…"_

Sasuke had and epiphany, _"This test is about how well we can gather information without getting caught. The whole point is to cheat!"_

Smirking, Sasuke focused his attention on the person in front of him and activated his Sharingan, copying his movements. Elsewhere in the room, Hinata and her cousin Neji activated their doujutsu as well, the Byakugan. Shino was using his insects to spy for him, and Akamaru, Kiba's dog, was quietly giving him the answers as well.

Gaara created his third eye, using it to spy on another's test paper. One of the Oto-nins in the exam used his ears to analyze the pencil movements of the person in front of him and come up with the answer. Lee and his other teammate, Tenten, used mirrors to copy off of someone's test.

Naruto was facing a conundrum. He knew the purpose of the test, yes, but how could he cheat without getting caught? Subtlety had never been a strength of his.

"**Hey brat!"**

"_What is it?" _he snapped, irritated, _"This isn't the best time!"_

"**I've done some snooping, and…"**

"_What, what, what?"_

"**It seems you've got yourself a doujutsu."**

Naruto didn't register what he said for a second, _"I don't ca— wait, what?"_

An irritated growl echoed throughout Naruto's mind, **"You. Have. A. Doujutsu."**

Naruto blinked, _"I do?"_

"**YES! It came with absorbing more of my chakra!"**

Naruto was a bit anxious, _"What does it do?"_

A snort came from the beast, **"Not sure. All I know is that it has three levels to it. You can only activate the first."**

"_Really?"_ Naruto sighed mentally, _"And how do I do that?"_

"**Channel chakra into your eyes."**

Doing as he said, Naruto noticed that…nothing happened. Confused, he asked, _"What?"_

"**I should have suspected as much,"** the Kyubi grumbled, **"The first level of your doujutsu refines your eyesight. If your friend's Sharingan is anything like your new doujutsu, the second level will be the ability to copy taijutsu moves and low level jutsu, or something similar. I'm not sure about level three."**

A soft whisper broke up their conversation, "Naruto-kun…"

"…**I'll contact you when I have more info."**

"Yes, Hinata-chan?" he asked quietly, his lips almost motionless.

She had her arms folded in front of her over top of her test. She was looking at him from the corner of her eye. With a small, almost unnoticeable motion, she slid her test from beneath her arms, just enough for him to make out the answers, "You can look at my test."

Naruto's lips curved upwards just the slightest, just enough for her to notice his appreciation, "Arigatou, Hinata-chan."

It took Naruto about ten minutes to copy all of the answers off of his girlfriend's test, but when he had, he was extremely relieved. Finally, about five minutes later, Ibiki spoke, "Okay. We will now start the tenth question."

Ibiki scanned the room for a second, "Before we get to it, I'd like to explain the extra rules. These are the rules of desperation. First, you must decide if you will take it or not."

Temari stood up, angry, "What if we choose not to?"

Ibiki leveled a glare at her, "If you choose not to, you and your teammates will fail. If you take it and answer incorrectly, you'll fail and loose the right to take the Chuunin Exam ever again."

His eyes swept the room, as if daring them to ask another question, "Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand."

Many people shivered, having second thoughts of the exam. Still just as many raised their hands, quitting the Exam altogether. Naruto was only slightly nervous, and his girlfriend was afraid of what might be going on in his head. _"Naruto-kun…"_

The entire rookie nine stifled a gasp of surprise as Naruto's hand reached towards the ceiling. Then it came crashing down on the desk in front of him, "I don't care about ranks or titles. I don't think some enemy Nin is going to care either. An enemy won't care if you're Genin, Chuunin, or Jounin, and neither do I. But I'm going to become Hokage, and even if getting this question wrong means doing that as Genin, I won't back down."

Ibiki was unfazed, "Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

Naruto leveled a deadly glare at him, allowing a small amount of killing intent to ooze from his form, "I follow my inflexible words. That's my Nindo."

The tension in the room seemed to disappear at his brave words, even more so with the confident tone of his voice. Ibiki smiled, "Now, everyone remaining, I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

A bundle of cloth broke through the window, flying into the center of the room and attaching itself to the ceiling via kunai. From within the bundle came a purple haired Kunoichi wearing nothing but a trench coat and a miniskirt over the standard fishnet mesh.

Standing up, she addressed the group as a whole, "You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!"

She smirked at them, "I am the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko!"

* * *

**(A/N)**

Now then, since Naruto already has the Rasengan, I need a jutsu for him to learn/create during the 'Search for Tsunade' arc. It can either be a speed jutsu like the Hiraishin, a jutsu like Rakurai, or a jutsu like the Rasengan.

**Category One: Speed Supplementary**  
Denkousekka— lightning speed

**Category Two: Powerful Orbs**  
Raikou no Kyuutai— Orb of Lightning  
Kyuuden— Ball lightning  
Tsukuyomi— Moon God  
Amaterasu— Sun Goddess

**Category Three: Powerful Strikes**  
Shuurai— Lightning strike  
Raiden—Thunder and Lightning  
Raigeki— being struck by lightning

When you vote fore one of these Jutsu, state their name and their category number. The Jutsu with the most votes will be chosen as the jutsu Naruto will learn/create during the 'Search for Tsunade' arc.

Keigan— discerning (keen) eye

Maneshigan— copycat eye

Bokugan— predicting eye

Zennougan—Almighty eye

Zennougan—Almighty eye: This doujutsu is similar to the Sharingan in appearance. However, it only stays that way at levels one and two. When the third level of this doujutsu is activated, the tomoe pattern swirls together to form a tri-bladed shuriken almost identical to the Mangekyou Sharingan that Itachi possesses. Once all three levels are attained, the complete Zennougan must be activated in a set pattern. First, the Keigan must be activated, then the Maneshigan, followed by the Bokugan. They must be activated in that order one at a time.

The first level of the Zennougan doujutsu, Keigan, sharpens the vision, making things and details easier to see. The second level, Maneshigan, allows the user to copy any bodily motions, such as hand seals and taijutsu moves. NOT jutsu, just the hand seals. The third level, the Bokugan, allows the user to predict the opponent's next move. This is only effective when the user is as fast as or faster than his opponent. Unlike the Sharingan (Mangekyou), the Zennougan has no inherent Genjutsu abilities nor does it change the color of the irises.

I've got enough people pointing this out to me so I'll say it before anyone else does. I know about the Mangekyou's specific Jutsu. I know about Itachi's Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu. These names are what this fic's Naruto would come up with. They were chosen based firstly on his character, and secondly on what the mean. Therefore, they are **not** taking into account other jutsu by the same name.

**Kyra-chan's Corner: **Hello all. I had fun reading this chapter. It was real good. Anyhow, I need you people to sign this important document to help save anime.

**( http/ 6G78Sksa/ ) **Without the spaces.

Arigato and ja ne.

Anyway, Read and Review!

Ja ne!

Hideo Kazama(秀夫風間)(and his beta)Kyra—chan(カイラ―ちゃん)The Fire Fox(火狐)


	4. Orochimaru's Folly and Kyubi's Power!

**A Simple Change: The Rasengan**

**By: **Hideo Kazama (秀夫　風間

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and co.**

**A/N: I have decided on a jutsu for Naruto. I'll explain what it is at the bottom.**

**Chapter Four: Orochimaru's Folly and Kyubi's Power!

* * *

**

"Now let's go!" Anko pumped her fist into the air, "Follow me!"

Pushing some of the fabric away, Ibiki whispered to her, "Bad timing."

Anko blushed a bit, hand still in the air. Slowly, as if embarrassed, she brought it down, scanning the room. Seeming surprised for some reason, she yelled at Ibiki, "Seventy eight! Ibiki, you left twenty six teams? The test was way to easy this time!"

Smiling slightly, Ibiki replied, "There were a lot of outstanding ones this time."

Seemingly content with his comment, she said, "That's fine. I'll at least cut them in half in the second test."

Some of the Genin seemed apprehensive at her bold statement, shivering in trepidation. Anko noticed this, "Ahh. I'm getting excited. I'll explain everything once we've changed places. Follow me."

* * *

Following Anko led them to a large, fenced in forest with impossibly huge trees. On the locked and chained fence gate, a sign hung, reading, "Danger! Stay out!"

Anko stopped in front of the fence, her trench coat flapping slightly in the calm and silent wind. She turned to them, a malevolent grin stretched across her mouth, "Welcome to the stage for the second test. Practice area Forty Four, also known as…The Forest of Death. And, unlucky for you, you'll soon find out why it's called that."

Naruto snorted, muttering under his breath, "Yeah. I'll bet."

Faster than most of the Genin could follow, Anko had thrown a kunai at Naruto, who tilted his head to the side to dodge it. Shortly after, Naruto dove to the ground, twisting on his hands and throwing a roundhouse kick with his right leg at what had originally been empty space behind him. Anko grinned down at him, having blocked the kick with her left forearm and caught his shin in her right hand.

Naruto grinned back at her, bringing his left shin crashing down on her left right shoulder. Surprised, she let go of his right leg, which he promptly moved to her left shoulder. Locking his ankles behind her head, he pulled her face first into the hard earth between his knees. Pushing himself backwards, he was then kneeling on her back. He used it like a springboard and flung himself into the air, doing a flip and landing upright ten feet away. All in the span of five seconds.

Smirking at his success, he told her, "Kitsune Rendan (Fox Combo)."

A collective gasp swept around the group when she did not get up for ten seconds. Then she pushed herself into the air, twisting just right so that would land facing them.

She smirked at them, despite the small smudge of dirt on her left cheek, "Seems we've got some talented wannabes here."

Reaching into her trench coat, she said, "Now, before we start the second test, there's something I need to pass out."

She pulled out a stack of papers, "You must sign these agreement forms. There will be deaths in this one. And if you don't sign these, I'll be responsible."

Noticing that she had there attention, (Not that she hadn't had it before) Anko said, "I'm going to explain the second test, then you can sign them afterwards. And then each team will check in at that booth behind me.

"Now then, simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival test." She unrolled a scroll depicting a map of the area, "Around survival area number Forty four are forty four locked gates. About ten kilometers from each gate is a tower in the center. During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a…"

She pulled out two scrolls, "…No rules scroll battle. You will fight over these two scrolls, 'Heaven' and 'Earth'.

"There are twenty six teams here, meaning half will get a 'Heaven' scroll, and half will get an 'Earth' scroll. Your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls."

She grinned at them evilly, "And you have a time limit."

"Now then," She held up a hand, "Things that will get you disqualified." She held up one finger, "First, those that don't get to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit." A second finger rose, "Second, those who lose a teammate or whose teammate is killed. Lastly, you must not look inside the scrolls until you make it to the tower."

She shoved her hands into her coat, "Exchange the three forms for a scroll and chose a gate to get ready for the start. Oh, and a final word of advice…Don't die!"

After everyone had signed a form, received a scroll and picked a gate, she shouted, "Follow an instructor and get to your gates! We'll start in thirty minutes!"

Thirty minutes passed quietly, everyone silently anticipating the second test. As Anko saw the thirty minutes end on her watch, she said, "The second test of the Chuunin Exam now begins!"

In a blur of movement, the entirety of the Genins blew through their gates, each team focused on reaching the tower at the center.

After traveling a little ways into the forest, Team Seven stopped, listening to the screams coming from some ways away. Sasuke simply smirked, "Hn. Sounds like it's started."

Naruto frowned, looking disgruntled for a second, "I got to take a whiz. Be right back."

He left for a nearby cluster of trees, walking behind it to answer nature's call. Silence reigned for a few seconds, then, "What the hell? Can't a guy take a whiz in peace? You could've at least waited till I finished!"

A loud "WHAM!" was heard as an Ame-nin flew from the foliage, unconscious with a large bump on his head. Silence followed as Sasuke and Hinata sweat dropped at the sight. Then, the sound of a zipper being pulled up met their ears, and Naruto walked out from behind the trees, washing his hands on some soap and water (from a canteen) he carried in his extra kunai pouch (he has two).

Naruto kicked the Ame-nin in the ribs to make sure he was out cold, and then searched his pockets for a scroll. He frowned when he found none.

"Right then," Sasuke said, "We need to come up with a password…"

Naruto frowned at the chosen password, wondering what the "Mangekyou Sharingan" was.

A sudden wind blew through the clearing, knocking the group away from each other, Naruto the farthest. When it had all settled down again, Sasuke stood from the bush he was hiding under.

A soft cry of "Uchiha-san!" caused him to turn around, a kunai in his grasp.

"Stay away," he warned, "First the codeword. The Uchiha clan's darkest secret."

Firmly, she said, "The Mangekyou Sharingan."

Naruto stumbled out of the foliage, cursing, "Oww. You guys alright?"

Sasuke pointed his kunai at Naruto, "The codeword."

Naruto smiled, "The Uchiha clan's darkest secret is the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Sasuke smirked, throwing his kunai at the black clad boy. Naruto dodged, "Whoa!"

He glared at the Uchiha, "What the hell was that for? I said the codeword bastard!"

Sasuke's smirk widened a bit. He pointed at Naruto's feet, "Naruto wears black sandals. Whoever you are, you're good, but not good enough! Show yourself, you bastard!"

The Naruto in front of them smirked in a way unbecoming of the real Naruto. The look was evil and malevolent, something that didn't belong on Naruto's face. In a puff of smoke, Naruto was replaced by a grass-nin with long black hair and wearing a straw hat (called a sedge shade). Removing his (and I use that term lightly) shade, the imposter smirked, "Impressive that you knew. This will be more fun than I thought."

* * *

Naruto, on the other hand, was standing from the place he fell. However, while on his knees, he caught sight of a shadow looming over him. A large shadow. Almost afraid of what he would see, Naruto looked up to find a large snake eyeing him.

"_Damn!"_ he thought, _"It's huge!"_

With a loud hiss, it lunged at him, intent on making him dinner. Cursing his luck, he bounded out of its path, watching as it slammed into the ground a few yards away. Hearing something traveling through the air behind him, he did a back flip over the tail that would have crashed into him.

Naruto charged a Rasengan as it turned towards him again, thrusting his attack forwards as the giant reptile charged at him a second time. It met his attack head on, bursting into a puff of smoke as it was destroyed.

An angry scowl marred his face, "Damn. I better get back to Sasuke and Hinata-chan. I've got to remember to give them one of my special kunai to make this easier!"

With another disgruntled curse, Naruto took to the trees, intent on finding his teammates again.

* * *

The grass-nin smirked at them, holding out an 'Earth Scroll', "You want my Earth Scroll, correct? Because you have the Heaven Scroll."

His long tongue snaked around the scroll as he brought it to his lips. At an agonizingly slow pace, he stuck it in his mouth, swallowing it. Grinning evilly, he stared at them, pulling his bottom left eyelid down slightly, "Now let's begin the battle for each other's scrolls…with our lives on the line."

A great fear ran through Hinata and Sasuke, and in their minds, they pictured themselves with kunai protruding from their foreheads. With shaky limbs, Sasuke keeled over, throwing up his lunch. _"Genjutsu? No, this is just fear. His killing intent is doing this to us. Who the hell is this guy?"_

The grass-nin chuckled lightly, "He he. You can no longer move."

With an almost lazy flick of his wrist, he flung two kunai at Sasuke and Hinata.

Using pain to override fear, Sasuke picked up Hinata and dashed for cover, barely dodging the kunai thrown. He stopped behind some trees, panting in exertion and to return the feeling of breathing back to his lungs.

Hinata sat beside him, Byakugan activated and searching for any disturbances in the forest. She soon caught sight of a snake hanging from the tree above them and quickly warned Sasuke. With a well practiced jump, they flung themselves off the tree and into another, narrowly escaping the serpent's large jaws.

When it followed his movements, he flung as many kunai and shuriken into its body as he dared, watching as it fell against the tree, supposedly dead. With it dead, Sasuke leaned back against the tree he was in, sighing in relief.

His breath caught when he heard a disturbing noise coming from the snake he had just killed. Almost afraid of what he would find, Sasuke turned his head back towards the humungous reptile. His eyes widened in horror as the grass-nin rose from the snake's corpse, staring at him, "You guys shouldn't relax for even a moment. Prey should always be trying to run away in the presence of a predator like me."

With his piece said, his body lengthened as he twisted up the tree he was in, much like the snake before him. He stopped short when kunai and shuriken impacted the trunk in front of his face.

"Sorry I'm late, Sasuke, Hinata-chan," a voice said, "But I had a little trouble with a pest. Seems it wanted the Uchiha clan's darkest secret from me."

Hinata and Sasuke looked towards the source of the voice to see a blonde haired Genin wearing a black shirt and black ANBU pants. He had a large grin on his face and deep blue eyes. Hinata almost squealed happily, "Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, "I know you think you're here to save us, but run away! This one's on a whole other level!"

The grass-nin chuckled, "Looks like you successfully defeated that giant snake, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke looked torn, _"This is bad…all three of us may get killed if we don't get out of here!"_

Pulling out the scroll, Sasuke said, "I'll give you the scroll, please, take it and leave us!"

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke tossed the scroll in the grass-nin's direction, "Take it!"

Naruto jumped in front of its path, snatching out of the air a few feet from Sasuke. Sasuke rounded on him, yelling in his frustration, "Bastard! Don't you understand the situation?"

Naruto punched him, watching as Sasuke landed a few yards away. Sasuke was infuriated, "What's this all of the sudden?"

Naruto's cold whisper was quiet, yet somehow, the entire group assembled could here it, "You're Sasuke's fake, aren't you?"

"You total moron!" Sasuke shouted, "I'm the real Sasuke!"

"Liar!" Naruto snapped harshly, "There's no way a stupid coward like you is the real Sasuke! What guarantee is there he'll let us go if we give him the scroll?"

"Naruto-kun," the grass-nin chuckled, "You are correct. Since I can just kill you and take the scroll."

He bit his thumb, running it down a tattoo on his arm, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Naruto charged the grass-nin, hoping to interrupt the summoning. He wasn't fast enough as a large snake appeared beneath the man's body, glaring at Team Seven. He was too shocked at its size to notice the tail that came seemingly from nowhere and struck him, sending him tumbling down to a tree branch, where he lay motionless.

The rest of Team Seven stared on in shocked silence, not even registering when the grass-nin's neck extended towards Sasuke. Sasuke himself didn't even notice till he felt something bite him on his neck. He let out a cry of pain, "Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

The grass-nin smirked as his curse seal burned itself into Sasuke's skin, and slowly retracted his neck when it was completed. He turned his gaze to Hinata, and immediately noticed her Hyuga heritage.

"Kukuku," he laughed, his voice much more masculine than before, "I wonder what it would be like for the Sharingan and the Byakugan to mix? It would be such a joy to find out."

His neck began extending again, intending to strike Hinata again. He neared her, a mere twenty feet between him and the pale eyed girl. Those twenty feet turned to fifteen feet, then ten, then five.

WHAM! A fist slammed into his face, and if he was right, it had broken his nose. An animalistic voice reached his ears, evidently angry with him, "Don't you **dare** touch Hinata-chan, you BASTARD!"

The grass-nin looked up, staring at the person before him. In essence, it was Naruto. But he looked nothing like he normally did. His whisker marks had lengthened and broadened, looking more feral and dangerous. His eyes were a bloody crimson, glaring at him dangerously. The fine tips on his fingernails had turned into inch length claws. And finally, a fox shaped shroud of chakra had formed around his body, two bubbling tails behind it.

With a snap of his wrist, a large blue bolt of lightning flew from his fingertips, destroying the snake instantly. Another snap of his wrist brought a rain of three pronged kunai down upon the grass-nin.

The grass-nin, the skin of his face twisted and unnatural, stared in surprise as Naruto disappeared before his eyes. He barely had time to ponder the blonde's location when a fist slammed into his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Then another attacked his spine, cracking at least one or two vertebrae. A roundhouse kick landed on his right cheek, twisting the skin of his face even more.

A leg swept his feet from under him, bringing him to the tree trunk beneath him. He gasped as Naruto appeared above him and brought his fist crashing down into his gut. He was pushed further into the wood, causing a small crater to form around him. And just as he tried to land a punch on the Genin, Naruto disappeared again, as if he was never there.

The grass-nin, deciding he was tired of this charade, tore the skin of his face off, revealing another, paler face beneath. The grass symbol on his Hitai-ate turned to that of a musical note. His slit yellow eyes held anger and frustration. He recognized this technique. How could he not? His most hated enemy, the Fourth Hokage, had used it countless times. And it was probably what had gotten the whelp the position of Hokage in the first place.

Naruto suddenly appeared a good distance away, charging a technique in his right hand. Orochimaru, the one who had been posing as a grass-nin, took this opportunity to take desperate measures in order to remain hidden. He went through a set of hand seals, watching in satisfaction as purple fire started to burn on the fingertips of his right hand. He allowed his amazingly long tongue to leak out of his mouth, twisting in anticipation.

Naruto catapulted himself off of the tree branch he was on, diving for Orochimaru. As he neared the Snake Sennin, Orochimaru's tongue lashed out, grabbing onto his midsection and preventing him from destroying the man's insides with a Rasengan. Using his free hand, Orochimaru lifted Naruto's black shirt, spotting the seal instantly. Without hesitating in the least, he slammed the burning fingers of his right hand into the seal, watching as it took effect.

The red aura of chakra started to dissipate, sinking back into his body. Naruto, barely registering what was happening through the pain he felt, crashed his slowly dissipating Rasengan into Orochimaru's left shoulder, tearing tendons and muscles to pieces. With an outraged cry, Orochimaru released the now unconscious blonde, disappearing into the trees.

Regaining her composure, Hinata rushed down to the unconscious form of Naruto. With fear in her heart, she ran a detailed scan of his vitals, letting out a breath of relief when she found nothing major wrong with him. Gently, she hoisted him over her shoulder (after having packed all of the kunai he had thrown into his first kunai pouch). Adding a large amount of Chakra to her legs, she sped off to find a clearing, picking up Sasuke along the way.

* * *

Naruto was in that weird place again. Except it was slightly different. The floors were dry as can be and more red pipes had joined the blue. Padding softly down the marble hallway, he quickly found the cage that held Kyubi. Only…it was blocked off by a brick wall.

"Whoa." he whispered.

A deep chuckle brought his attention to a spot to his right, where a dog sized fox lay, its nine, long tails swishing lazily across the floor. It appeared to be…grinning at him, **"Yes. Whoa."**

Naruto stared at it for a second, then took notice of the eight extra tails it had, "Kyubi? What happened?"

"**It's quite simple really,"** it said, standing up and walking slowly towards him. It sat down in front of him, its slender tails motionless, **"The stupid snake bastard didn't know that we had merged, thus, he believed putting a seal over your original seal would cut you off from my chakra and leave you weakened. Unfortunately for him, it didn't quite work out that way. All he managed to do was screw up your chakra control."**

"Oh, I see. Because we merged, he'd have to split your soul from mine in order to seal me off from your chakra, right?"

Kyubi nodded, **"Right. This gives us a large advantage over him. He thinks you're weakened and don't have access to my chakra, because of this, he'll underestimate you next time."**

"Then why did it have such an effect on me?" Naruto was curious. He had noticed how Kyubi's chakra had receded when the seal had hit him.

"**Because your body was in a lot of pain and it is trying to adjust to the new seal. It is unfortunate that you won't have such luck. You should wake up soon, within the next day."** A slow grin tugged at its lips, **"Until then, I believe there was a new jutsu you wanted to come up with? Until you get rid of this seal and relearn your chakra control, you won't be able to try it for real, but you could at least figure out how to do it and such while you're here."**

Naruto grinned, "Yeah. Hey, Kyubi?"

"**Yes?"**

"One last thing. When we merged, how far did it slow the absorption process?"

It looked at him, as if hesitant to say its words, **"By my current calculations, we managed to slow it down enough that it will probably take about five or six years for you to absorb it all."**

Nodding, Naruto's eyes glazed over as he did calculations for his greatest jutsu yet.

* * *

Hinata sat protectively in front of her teammates, her breathing shallow. Numerous scratches decorated her arms and legs and a large, purpling bruise marred her right cheek. Pinned to a tree by kunai some five yards away was the unconscious Sound Kunoichi known as Kin. Approximately the same distance away a little to the left of their comrade were the two male members of the Oto-nin team (Dosu and Zaku). They were almost unscathed.

Lee lay on the ground a short distance away, having come to rescue his comrades from imminent doom.

"**Kit. You need to wake up. Your mate's in trouble!"**

"_What do you mean?"_

"**That blood you smell belongs to your Hinata-chan!"**

Dosu grinned from under his bandages, rushing towards the weakened girl, "Time to end this!"

"Some minor sound-nins bullying these second rate ninjas. I'm afraid I can't allow that." A voice said from up in the trees.

Dosu stopped and turned his attention to the owner of the voice, a long haired Genin wearing some sort of jacket and black shorts. His eyes were the same milky white color as Hinata's and glared at them hatefully. Dosu snarled, "More of them! They're like cockroaches!"

"You made a mistake," he said, ignoring the sound-nin's words, "That knocked out freak is from my team and you're going to pay for that.

"If you're going to go any further…" the veins around his eyes bulged, "…then I'm going all out."

"**Wake up, kit! There's no time to waste! Hinata is in trouble!"**

Something flickered on the Neji's Byakugan enhanced vision, _"Huh? This chakra!"_

"If you don't like it so much," Dosu taunted, "Then stop acting cool and get down here!"

"No…" Neji said slowly, "It seems that won't be necessary."

Over under the nearly uprooted tree, Naruto was slowly standing, a malevolent red chakra peeling off his form. It was vaporous in nature and took no definite shape. Neji's Byakugan could not seem to find where the unnatural chakra originated from, though it seemed more dense and intense around his stomach.

Naruto's gleaming crimson eyes glared at the Oto-nins in front of him, as if willing them to combust spontaneously. In a low, dangerous voice, he asked, "Hinata-chan…Who did this to you?"

"Naruto-kun!" she gasped, her voice slightly hoarse.

"_Who did this?_" he asked again, his voice harsh and icy, contradicting the warm chakra covering his body.

Zaku smirked proudly, "We did it!"

The red chakra spiked, gaining size around the slim figure in the middle of it all. Neji flinched slightly as it grew brighter to his 'Godly' vision, and turned off his Byakugan. Naruto grinned evilly at Zaku and Dosu, "So…It was you, was it? Let's see…just how easy it is for me to tear you apart with this small fraction."

Dosu's eye widened, "His chakra is too large!"

Zaku did a hand seal, "Dosu! No need to be afraid of this half dead freak!"

Aiming for Naruto, he shouted, "Ultimate Zankuuha!"

A large blast of wind tore through the small clearing, kicking up dust and dirt as it hit its target. Trees were destroyed and logs were obliterated. No inanimate object in its path was spared the horrible fate.

Zaku smirked, "Hehe. I've blown him away!"

"Blown who away?" Naruto's voice said from behind him. With a malicious grin Naruto stuck his foot in between Zaku's shoulder blades, grabbing his arms and pulling on them painfully.

Naruto's grin widened, "Do you always have one foot in the grave or are you doing this in honor of me?"

He gave a slight tug on the Oto-nin's arms and smiled when he heard him cry out in pain, "Why thank you. I'm flattered."

Then he frowned, slowly pulling harder, "Go back to that bastard boss of yours and tell him," he paused to let Zaku scream as his arms were dislocated, "Any pain he inflicts on Konohagakure, I'll return a hundredfold."

Releasing Zaku, he turned his gaze towards Dosu, "You're the only one left. Are you going to fight? Or will you be wise and run like a scared cat?"

Dosu nodded, pulling his earth scroll from his outfit, "You are too strong. We can't defeat you. Take our scroll and we shall leave peacefully."

Naruto grinned and the aura disappeared, his body returning to normal, "It seems you're wise. I'll accept your scroll."

His face twisted into a frown, "But harm Hinata-chan again and you shall not escape my wrath."

Picking up his teammates, Dosu nodded his head solemnly, "I understand."

As they leapt away, Naruto rushed over to his girlfriend (after picking up the scroll), hugging her tightly. Wincing slightly, she hugged him back, happy that things were returning to normal.

Standing, Naruto helped Hinata up and slung Sasuke over his shoulder, heading in the direction of the tower.

Forgotten up in the tree, Neji turned to leave as Ten Ten picked up Lee. He paused for a second, turning his head to look back at Team Seven. His eyes narrowed as they latched onto the blonde, _"That chakra was abnormal. Is the Kazama clan really that strong? Or is something else afoot here?"_

After taking a full day to recover from their injuries (Naruto only needed an hour), Team Seven walked into the tower, fully expecting to find someone waiting for them.

Naruto blinked in confusion, taking in his surroundings (like any good shinobi would). He didn't see anything of great interest, so it's no surprise he noticed the scroll attached to the wall very quickly.

Walking over to it, he tried to decipher its meaning, a bit confused when he found a few words missing from it all. When his eyes found the words "Heaven" and "Earth" he was struck by an epiphany, "Hey, Hinata-chan, Sasuke-teme, open the scrolls!"

Nodding, they did as he said, peeling the scrolls open. Sasuke, noticed what they were, quickly dropped his scroll and backed away, telling Hinata to do the same. A pillar of smoke rose from the scrolls, obscuring the person who had been summoned. Naruto and Hinata gasped as the smoke dissipated.

Iruka grinned at Naruto, "Hey. Long time no see."

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, his tone demanding.

Iruka smiled at them, "At the end of the Second test, it's set up so that we Chuunins meet up with the exam takers. I was allowed to be the one to greet you. So, congratulations! You three pass the second test!"

Naruto grinned at him, happiness dancing in his eyes. Hinata smiled, interlacing her fingers with Naruto's. Sasuke smirked, leaning up against the wall for support. He clutched his neck, willing the curse seal to stop throbbing.

Iruka smiled at Naruto and Hinata, noticing their interlaced fingers, "Oh? I see congratulations are in order for another reason. When were you planning on telling me, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head, "Eh heh…You see, Iruka-sensei, it didn't…cross my mind."

"Ah. Well," Iruka frowned, "In all seriousness, this third and final test…don't push yourselves too hard, okay? You have a day before the third test begins. Use it to get some rest."

In a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

They listened to his words, taking a day off from everything just to relax. Naruto went searching for help getting rid of the extra seal, asking any Chuunin or Jounin he could find. He was eventually redirected to the Hokage himself, where the old man took one look at the seal, then removed it, painfully. With his chakra back under control, Kyubi had urged Naruto to relearn his control exercises and gain a hold on his new, stronger chakra. Naruto had ignored the Kitsune's urging and found a room to rest in, the seal removal leaving him drained and aching.

Sasuke had found the most secluded room in the tower, dodging and escaping from his rabid fangirls to get to it. He had been _mostly_ successful, having been caught by Sakura and Ino once he had outran the others. After trapping them in a mild, D-rank Genjutsu, he had made his escape and found freedom. He took the opportunity to rest and regain stamina and chakra. He slept all day and all night.

Hinata had gone and gotten medical treatment for her wounds, the worst of which had been a cracked rib and the bruise on her cheek. At first she had been denied, the medics telling her they weren't allowed to help yet. Hinata had drawn up the most threatening face she could and threatened to bring the full weight of the Hyuga clan down upon them if they refused to treat her. Fortunately, they didn't call her bluff (she wasn't in any position to be using her clan's power) and treated her wounds.

Now, at the end of the second exam, the twenty one Genin remaining stood in a peculiar arena, waiting for the instructions to the third exam. In the front of the room stood a group consisting of Chuunin, Jounin, and the Hokage. Protruding from the front wall was a pair of stone hands forming the seal for "Ram".

Anko smirked at them from where she stood, "Congratulations on passing! Hokage-sama will now explain the third test, so listen carefully!"

The Sandaime took a step forward, "Before we begin, there is something I'd like you to know."

He tugged his hat down slightly, "Why do we have all the allianced countries taking this exam together? 'To promote friendship amongst the countries' 'To raise the level of Shinobi'… I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. This exam is a replacement for war among the allied countries."

Sandaime's face was impassive as he took a puff on his pipe, "If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that those countries chose for fighting…That is the origin of the Chuunin Exams."

Sarutobi continued, undaunted by the questions thrown at him, "It is true that this exam decides who is to become Chuunin, but it is also an opportunity for the different countries to show off there ninja to the important figures who watch this third exam. A Shinobi village is only as strong as it's weakest link.

"Now then," he paused for a second, "On to the third exam…"

"Actually…" A sick looking Jounin appeared in front of the Hokage, "As referee…Hokage-sama, if I may…?"

Sandaime nodded, "By all means…"

The Jounin turned toward the Genin, revealing his weary face and the dark bags under his eyes, "I am Gekkou Hayate, and I am the referee. Before the third test, I'm afraid we'll have to hold a preliminary. Since we are going to begin right away, I must ask any who wish to quit to do so now."

Kabuto raised his hand, "I wish to quit."

Questioning stares followed his retreating back as he left, sparing a short, unnoticeable glance at Naruto and Sasuke.

Hayate looked around, "Right then, (cough, cough) if no one else wishes to forfeit, let's begin the preliminary rounds. If you'll turn your attention to the screen behind me…"

Everyone turned their gazes to the large screen behind the sickly Jounin, watching as the blackness faded into a dark gray. The letters 'vs.' lit up in the very center. Above them was the name "Uchiha Sasuke" and below it was "Akado Yoroi".

"Now," Hayate said, "If these two participants would come to the front…"

They walked forward, each one assured of his victory. Gekkou Hayate made a motion towards the stands, "Now if everyone else would please leave the arena."

When everyone had left the area for the stands, he said, "Now…Please begin."

Yoroi made a hand seal, "Are you ready, Sasuke-kun?"

He slipped his left hand into his kunai pouch, his right hovering in front of his stomach. He withdrew a few shuriken, while, simultaneously, Sasuke withdrew a Kunai from the holster on his thigh. Without warning, Yoroi flung his shuriken at Sasuke, who knocked them away with a swipe of his kunai.

A flash of pain from his curse seal brought Sasuke to the ground, kunai still in hand. Yoroi took the opportunity to try and attack Sasuke, trying to bring his hand down on Sasuke's head. Sasuke rolled and dodged, watching the other Genin's hand sink into the tile floor. Plunging his kunai into ground as a brake, Sasuke spun around and brought Yoroi's legs from under him, pulling the older Genin into a painful looking arm lock.

Yoroi's hand grabbed Sasuke's shirt firmly, and, suddenly, Sasuke felt himself growing weaker. Too weak to prevent it, Sasuke could only watch as Yoroi twisted himself free of Sasuke's grip and brought his hand down on the Uchiha's chest. Hard.

Jumping up, Yoroi spun around and latched that same hand on Sasuke's head, sapping the younger boy's strength.

"You're…stealing…my chakra," Sasuke stuttered.

Yoroi chuckled, "So you finally noticed."

With a sudden surge of strength, Sasuke kicked him off, standing up as fast as he could. A wave of inspiration passed through his body, a grin plastering itself across his face.

Yoroi growled as he stood back up. He rushed Sasuke again, his technique charged and ready to go. With a burst of speed, Sasuke ducked under his attempt at grappling and sent a kick into the boy's chin, forcing the Genin into the air. As fast as his body would allow, Sasuke followed him, appearing beneath Yoroi's airborne body.

Sasuke sent a light poke to his opponent's body, "It's over."

Using the other Genin's body, Sasuke flipped over, sending a kick towards Yoroi's stomach. It was blocked with relative ease. Sasuke used the block to add speed and power to himself, performing a 180 and bringing his fist crashing into the older boy's face. Now only a few feet above the ground, Sasuke used his momentum to bring a solid kick into Yoroi's stomach, forcing him to collide painfully with the ground and Sasuke's foot at the same time.

"Shishi Rendan!" Sasuke said.

With his opponent unconscious and his fight won, Sasuke collapsed on his butt, panting heavily.

Hayate bent over Yoroi, checking for signs of unconsciousness. When he found his answer, he shouted to the stadium, "Akado Yoroi is unable to continue. Uchiha Sasuke wins the first round!"

As Kakashi took Sasuke from the stadium and medics took away Yoroi, the screen lit up with the next combatants, "**Zaku Abumi vs. Aburame Shino**"

Zaku smirked, confident of his victory, "Who's this loser?"

When both had entered the stadium and stood in front of Hayate, the referee said, "We will now begin the second match.

The remaining Genin watched the match unfold, wincing a bit as Shino got hit by Zaku's Zankuuha.

Sakura was worried about him, "Will Shino-san be alright?"

Kiba, her other teammate, smirked, "I wouldn't worry about Shino. He's one of the guys even I don't want to fight."

Hinata turned her head from the fight for a second, "Who do you think will win, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto didn't answer her at first, his eyes intensely focused on the battle in front of his eyes, "Shino will win. He's on a whole different level. Zaku doesn't stand a chance, and he's a fool for not realizing that."

Neji gazed lazily at the fight, disinterest in his pale gaze, "For a rookie, this guy isn't so bad. But can he win this?"

Tenten grimaced when Zaku's arms were destroyed, "It seems he can and did."

Down in the stadium, Hayate shouted, "Winner, Aburame Shino!"

The screen lit up again as Zaku was carried away on a stretcher, "**Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro**"

Kankuro bested his opponent relatively quickly. Tsurugi had attacked and supposedly broke his neck, only to discover that he was attacking a puppet. Kankuro had pulled himself from the mass of bandages on the floor revealing that he was safe and unharmed. With practiced ease, Kankuro crushed his opponent, literally.

In less than a minute after it started, Hayate said, "Winner, Kankuro."

The screen lit up a fourth time, "**Haruno Sakura vs. Hyuga Hinata**"

Sakura smirked as she approached the referee, "This should be easy. The only one with any real talent on Team Seven is Sasuke-kun."

Hinata said nothing, activating her Byakugan. She slid into a ready stance and waited for Hayate to start the match.

Gekkou Hayate sized up the competitors, then raised his hand, "Let the fourth match of the Chuunin Exam preliminaries…Begin!"

With a hand seal, Sakura created three Bunshin and rushed her opponent. Hinata saw through them and brushed off the punch from the middle one, stepping inside Sakura's guard. Grabbing Sakura's extended arm, she spun the other girl around, tossing her towards the stands. With her opponent's back wide open, Hinata hit the girl squarely in the shoulder, slightly surprised when it exploded into smoke.

Hinata saw Sakura charging toward her and twisted around, sending a high kick into her opponent's right shoulder. The pink haired girl was knocked backwards onto the floor, she quickly stood, gripping her shoulder in pain.

Hinata took the opportunity to do single hand seal, crying out, "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The air near Hinata's body condensed, the water vapor collecting to form the Jutsu it was meant for. With almost no noise, two copies of Hinata appeared on either side of her. An uncharacteristic smirk spread across her face; Zabuza had taught her this on the way back to Konoha. He'd also been teaching her other Suiton Jutsus, though she didn't have the chakra for most of them.

The two Mizu Bunshin dashed for their opponent, making sure to put on a good show. Sakura fought back, surprised at how easy a time she was having with the Bunshin in front of her. She could see and dodge each palm strike and kick thrown. With a confident smirk, she pulled out two kunai and stabbed them, shocked when they grinned at her.

With a splash, the Water Clones exploded all over Sakura, leaving her soaked. She was confident though. She had seen one of Hinata's jutsus, and that meant the girl had less she could surprise her with.

She turned to look at Hinata and gloat, only to find the Hyuga heiress charging another technique. An _electrical_ one. And, suddenly, Sakura understood the purpose of the Mizu Bunshin. Fear crept into her eyes.

With a jabbing motion, a blue lightning bolt leapt from Hinata's fingers, "Rakurai no Jutsu!"

Sakura was rooted to where she stood and couldn't move an inch. She saw the bolt of lightning coming towards her and knew that she should dodge, but her body wouldn't budge. She let out a scream as the electrical discharge hit her, sending waves of pain throughout her body. She screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Then, with a final gasp, Sakura fell forward, unconscious.

When she didn't move for ten seconds, Hayate exclaimed, "Winner, Hyuga Hinata."

Hinata walked back up to the stands as the medic team came and picked Sakura up. Naruto congratulated her verbally, and then leaned over to peck her on the cheek. She giggled and blushed, happy and content.

The screen lit up for the fifth time, reading "**Temari vs. Ten Ten**"

This turned out to be the worst match up for Ten Ten. Her weapons couldn't reach her opponent at all and she was defeated easily. Temari had beaten her brutally, as evidenced by the fact that she had caught the weapons mistress on her fan, Ten Ten's back bent at an unhealthy angle.

Lee had gotten angry and was ready to fight, but Gai held him back. Lee, still angry, nodded and relinquished his fighting pose. For now.

After Temari had defeated Ten Ten and everything was said and done ("Winner, Temari!"), the screen lit up again, "**Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi**"

Their match didn't last very long either. Kin had had Shikamaru caught in her trap for a few moments, but Shikamaru had come back and out done her. Using his Kagemane no Jutsu, he forced her to hit her head against the wall. She knocked herself unconscious and Shikamaru was declared the winner.

After Kin was carried away on a stretcher, the screen flashed again, revealing the combatants of the next fight, "**Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba**"

"Haha! We can definitely beat him, Akamaru!" Kiba's dog gave a hesitant bark of agreement in reply.

Naruto made his way down into the stadium too, his cheek wet from Hinata's 'Good Luck' kiss.

Once they both stood in the arena, Hayate said, "The Seventh match, Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba. Begin!"

"Hehe, I feel bad for you, so I'll end it in one punch!" Kiba said, clenching his fist to emphasize his point.

Naruto snorted, "Yeah right. Tell ya what. If you can force me to use at least half my full strength, I'll acknowledge you as strong."

Kiba put his hands into a seal, "Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

The Inuzuka got down on all fours, his appearance becoming more feral and animalistic. Without warning, he rushed Naruto, intent on winning with one move. As he neared Naruto, a shout of "Bunshin Daibakuha!" met his ears, and the Naruto in front of him blew up in his face, singeing his jacket.

A snicker came from behind him, "That was only one tenth. You've still got a long way to go, Kiba-chan."

Kurenai was shell shocked, _"What did you do to that boy, Kakashi?"_

Kiba scowled, "Bah."

He fed Akamaru a soldier pill, turning the dog's fur red. He ignored Naruto's ever widening smirk and had Akamaru jump on his back as he did a hand seal, "Beast Human Bunshin!" (I can't remember the Japanese version)

There was a puff of smoke, then, instead of one Kiba, there were two. Naruto just grinned, "Nice."

Kiba attacked without a warning and tried vainly to hit Naruto. Each punch was dodged, each kick was blocked. Finally, Kiba snapped, "Gatsuuga!"

Naruto, surprised, was hit square in the chest, forcing him into the wall. Kiba smirked, believing that he had won. He turned to Hayate, "It's over referee, there's no way he's getting up from that!"

A low chuckle rose from Naruto's body, growing louder before erupting into a full blown laugh. Standing, Naruto stopped laughing and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "You caught me by surprise. But let me tell you…I don't fall for the same Jutsu twice!"

Kakashi sweat dropped.

Both Kiba's spun again, pulling off another Gatsuuga. Naruto dodged it, charging an orb of chakra in his hand. It stayed motionless, resembling the sun in looks. It was about the size of a regular Rasengan and hovered a few inches off of Naruto's palm. As his body began to descend, he shouted, "Time to test my latest Jutsu! A-MA-TE-RA-SU!"

He plummeted towards the ground, positioned right above one of the Kibas. He landed right in front of him, plunging his jutsu into the Kiba next to him with all of his speed. The brightly colored orb disappeared into Kiba's body as the boy screamed, obviously in great pain. He fell backwards, sweating and unconscious.

When he didn't burst into smoke to reveal Akamaru, Naruto turned his head towards the other Kiba, using his killing intent to pull off Kanashibari no Jutsu (though he didn't know it). The second Kiba exploded into smoke to reveal Akamaru, motionless and cowering.

The referee quickly checked on Kiba, finding him unconscious. His hand rose into the air, "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

In the silence of the room, Naruto's quiet statement rang out, "That's Kazama Naruto. Remember it."

The eighth match was "**Yamanaka Ino vs. Hyuga Neji**"

Neji took her down quite easily, and didn't even break a sweat. Ino, no matter what she tried, couldn't defeat him and lost very quickly. Her mediocre Taijutsu wasn't any match for Neji's Jyuken. She lost and Neji was declared the winner of the eighth match.

The ninth match was "**Gaara vs. Rock Lee**".

Lee put up a good fight, and was able to land a few good hits on Gaara. But Gaara was just too strong. In the end, Lee had shown that he could open the "Celestial Gates" and the power they held. But it wasn't any match for Gaara's sand, which crushed Lee's left arm and leg. He was carried off on a stretcher, the medics saying he wouldn't be able to be a shinobi ever again.

The last match was "**Akimichi Chouji vs. Dosu Kinuta**".

Chouji lost pretty quickly. He simply couldn't win against Dosu's sound techniques. Even his "Baika no Jutsu" and his "Meat Tank" he wasn't able to win against the Oto-nin.

"Now then," Sandaime stood in front of the remaining examinees, "Each of you will draw a piece of paper from the box Anko's holding. This will decide who faces who in the finals."

Naruto: 1

Hinata: 8

Dosu: 9

Temari: 7

Kankuro: 5

Gaara: 3

Shikamaru: 10

Neji: 2

Shino: 6

And that left Sasuke with 4.

Ibiki showed them a chart. It depicted the opponents for the Finals.

Match One: Kazama Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji

Match Two: Gaara vs. Uchiha Sasuke

Match Three: Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino

Match Four: Hyuga Hinata vs. Temari

Match Five: Dosu Kinuta vs. Nara Shikamaru

* * *

**(A/N)**

Now then, since Naruto already has the Rasengan, I need a jutsu for him to learn/create during the 'Search for Tsunade' arc. As you've noticed, I've decided to bring one of it's variations into this chapter. I have chosen, based on popular vote and my own desires, to have his jutsu be this:

**Amaterasu— Sun Goddess: **A perfectly round orb about the size of the Rasengan, if not a little bigger. It resembles the sun (minus sunspots and solar winds, etc.). It is surrounded by a small, vaporous aura that makes it seem as if it is on fire. When it comes into contact with an object possessing chakra foreign to its own, it explodes much the same way as a supernova, destroying any object inside the explosion's range. Because of this, it is meant to be a projectile, unlike the Rasengan. Regardless of how much chakra is put into this technique, it is usually fatal. However, it is possible to charge it with _just_ enough chakra to harm the target instead of killing it. Because of the ridiculous amount of time it usually takes to learn to perform this correctly (i.e. without harming yourself as well as the target) and the amount of damage it can cause (in the wrong hands, with enough chakra, it could level an entire village), it is labeled as an S-rank Ninjutsu.

_Note:_ Naruto created a different version of this jutsu first for CQC that acts similar to the Rasengan. It doesn't spin, but, when forced into an organic object, it melts the insides or causes a lot of pain (depending on the amount of chakra). This variation is A-rank, if not for its difficulty then for its lethal power. Many of you are probably wondering why it only took him a few days to invent this one. It's because he was basing it after the Rasengan. Since he knew how to do the Rasengan, inventing this variation of Amaterasu was relatively easy.

CQC— Close Quarters Combat

Keigan— discerning (keen) eye

Maneshigan— copycat eye

Bokugan— predicting eye

Zennougan—Almighty eye

I've got enough people pointing this out to me so I'll say it before anyone else pesters me. I know about the Mangekyou's specific Jutsu. I know about Itachi's Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu. These names I'm using are what this fic's Naruto would come up with. They were chosen based firstly on his character, and secondly on what the mean. Therefore, they are **not** taking into account other jutsu by the same name.

**Kyra-chan's Corner: **Hello all. Hope your having a good summer! Anyways, bye.

Read and Review!

Ja ne!

Hideo Kazama(秀夫風間) and Kyra—chan(カイラ―ちゃん)The Fire Fox(火狐)


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